Colston restructures his contract
 

The Saints are in the process of trying to create salary cap space, and a new deal for wide receiver Marques Colston will give them some.

The Saints and Colston have completed a restructured deal, Jason La Canfora ‏of CBS reports.

There’s no word on the details of the deal. Colston signed a five-year, $36.3 million contract in March, and he may have simply agreed to reduce his $4.5 million base salary to the league minimum while taking the rest as a signing bonus that will be prorated over the final four years of his deal.

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Up next for the Saints is seeing whether they can work out deals with Will Smith and Jonathan Vilma. Both veteran defenders are expensive, and are expected to be told that a simple restructuring won’t be enough: They’ll either take a pay cut or get cut.

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Re: Colston restructures his contract
 

Didn't see this coming before the D players.

Thanks Smash!

Re: Colston restructures his contract
 

Thanks Colston, once again being a team player freeing up money when he didn't have to

I really hope just cutting Will Smith would cost less than keeping him around, IMO he's one of the major reasons why some of the younger guys aren't getting playing time

Re: Colston restructures his contract
 

OK, now Mickey's just showin off.

Re: Colston restructures his contract
 

Can someone fact-check this: Has Marques Colston exceeded 1,000 yards receiving in 7 of his first 8 season?

Only about five other receivers have done this right?

(and yet they still won't vote him to the Pro Bowl...... sigh)

Re: Colston restructures his contract
 

Every little thing helps... go ML, go!

:bng:

Re: Colston restructures his contract
 

He'll get in the HOF, it will just take a little longer. Thing is, he could put up those numbers for several more years with Brees. Unlike most receivers, he doesn't rely on speed. It's not even part of his game to be honest. It's all about size and ball placement. He's a TE in WR clothing.

Re: Colston restructures his contract
 

Mickey working his magic.

Re: Colston restructures his contract
 

Its true and he doesn't get voted to the probowl because his yearly totals are never really high, he is just very consistant.

Re: Colston restructures his contract
 

Thanks colston for being a team player, here are his stats

2006 - 70 Catches, 1038 Yards, 8 TD's
2007 - 98 Catches, 1202 Yards, 11 TD's
2008 - 47 Catches, 760 Yards, 5 TD's (missed 5 games with broken thumb)
2009 - 70 Catches, 1074 yards, 9 TD's
2010 - 80 Catches, 1023 Yards and 7 TD's
2011 - 80 Catches, 1143 Yards and 8 TD's (missed 2 games with dislocated shoulder)
2012 - 83 Catches, 1154 Yards and 10 TD's

End result? future HOF and at the moment.....a friggin beast!

He won't make the HOF in my opinion.
His numbers are great but no hope of the HOF if he can't even get the respect of a probowl.

Re: Colston restructures his contract
 

If he continues to put up the numbers he has been putting up, and they manage to win one or two more Super Bowls with him on the roster and making a difference on the field - he'll be in the HOF or at least on the ballot.

Re: Colston restructures his contract
 

Oh! He will make the alternate HOF then.

:joke:

Yep. Just needs some of the regulars to move away

What this all tells me is that we have no idea of the personal relationships between the GM and the players. Looms obviously has a nose for which players are willing to restructure.

Can't wait for next season. The off season soap opera is too much for me.

Re: Colston restructures his contract
 

You can't make 10-12 year olds understand that possesion recievers are more important than the 60-80 yard bomb catchs that make those recievers more espn top plays of the day heros in there eyes.

Re: Colston restructures his contract
 

Mickey must love these defensive players if he's not even asking them to restructure.:wink:

Re: Colston restructures his contract
 

Every single player wants a restructure, because when base salary is turned into a prorated signing bonus - the player immediately gets that bonus on his bank account.

They're not getting pay cuts, but a big part of their future salary is being paid to them right now instead of waiting for it and possibly never getting all of it, since not all base salary is guaranteed.

Re: Colston restructures his contract
 

Wish I could get some of that up front money. I'd probably retire.

Re: Colston restructures his contract
 

You can always ask your employer for an advance... it's basically the same thing. ;-)

Re: Colston restructures his contract
 

Once again, y'all have to realize that these guys don't do this out of the kindness of their hearts. A restructure almost always means more guaranteed salary over the life of the deal.

Re: Colston restructures his contract
 

Exactly. Restructuring is always a good thing for the player. The front office would rather avoid it and if necessary only do it with players that they expect to be around for the life of the contract because if the player is cut the cap is hit with the entire prorated amount at one time.

Re: Colston restructures his contract
 

Keep it going...there is much work to do

I don't get it. So how is the salary cap not affected if a player gets more than what he was due this year?

Re: Colston restructures his contract
 

Player gets the same money that's due him the next two years, and maybe some sweet front money in the form of a signing bonus, but now the CAP hit gets spread across the NEW 4 year deal at a lesser amount this season and next season. If the team gets an extra 2.5 to play with, that's a lot, especially if they can do that 10 times.

Going to be a few lean years coming up when this teams is done.
To me it looks like this main core of players will be allowed to play out most of their last few years together then they will be cut/retire around the same time and a new team will be built.

Re: Colston restructures his contract
 

Could be, but then again, there are some big contracts that'll be off the books in a year's time or sooner - Smith, Vilma, and Harper to name a few - and that coupled with potentially a rising salary cap in the coming years will allow the Saints to keep the "window" open for a longer period of time.

If the Saints can start having excellent drafts, coupled with the excellent job they've done with the UDFAs, the "window" doesn't ever have to close because rookies are so much more affordable now under the new CBA. Then fill the few holes left with intelligently chosen FAs from other teams while staying away from those who'll have an inflated price-tag, and fight the tendency to give big contracts to own veteran players when their contracts are up.

Another thing is that a team/organization can do a lot of things that go along way into being a successful franchise with the right personnel decisions, especially when it comes to the coaches. And those maneuvers don't affect the salary cap one way or the other, so as long as Mr. Benson is willing to pay for talent on the other side of the ball; the Saints can succeed without having the best players in the league. They need the right coaches to develop the talent they have and to create systems that'll place the players in situations where they are most likely to shine. Not forgetting scouting, strength & conditioning, etc.


:bng:

Re: Colston restructures his contract
 

Here’s a crude example.
Studley signed a 60 million contract with 10 mill guaranteed.

He’s now supposed to make 10 million in salary and 2 million in bonus every year for 5 years, which is a 12 million cap hit.


BEFORE:
2013 10 million + 2 million = 12 million cap hit
2014 10 million + 2 million = 12 million cap hit
2015 10 million + 2 million = 12 million cap hit
2016 10 million + 2 million = 12 million cap hit
2017 10 million + 2 million = 12 million cap hit

We need cap room now so we convert 8 million of his 2013 base salary to bonus money, which you can spread out over the 5 years.

AFTER
2013 2 million + 3.6 million = 5.6 million cap hit (Cap savings 6.4 million)
2014 10 million + 3.6 million = 13.6 million
2015 10 million + 3.6 million = 13.6 million
2016 10 million + 3.6 million = 13.6 million
2017 10 million + 3.6 million = 13.6 million

You’re still paying the guy the same amount over 5 years, you’ve just giving him an advance because bonus money goes into his account the day he signs the contract. The downside being the cap hit for future years goes up.

Re: Colston restructures his contract
 

Guess they will restructure the restructure next year!

Re: Colston restructures his contract
 

Or cut him.

Thanks but I'm even more confused. So he does make less money this year but he is promised more the next - as long as he doesn't get hurt? I don't see why if I was a player I would want to restructure. I thought it was all about getting paid now before the possibility of injury?

Re: Colston restructures his contract
 

The guaranteed money he gets right away. Think of it as a salary advance. He gets more money now, but the team can spread the cap hit out.

In the example I showed, he already got a 10 million dollar check for signing the contract.

He now gets another 6.4 million dollar check without playing a down.

Its the same total amount, he just gets more of it right away.

The simplest way I could put it is.
The player reduces his yearly salary for a large chunk upfront,the team is allowed to spread the cost off that chunk over the players contract.

So you agree say a $100ml 5 year contract and get 40ml as a signing bonus.Your salary is no longer $100ml over 5 years but 60ml as you have allready been paid the rest.

Its a way off spreading the cost over a longer period of time.Players would rather have the money now than run the risk of getting cut at a later date and not getting as much.

Re: Colston restructures his contract
 

And therefore because he gets more of it right away, that 6.4 mil we have just handed him gets subtracted from the salary cap figure, is that correct?
So colston has saved us 6.4 mil on the cap by restructuring and taking it now?

Re: Colston restructures his contract
 

Re: Colston restructures his contract
 

My example wasn't Colstons numbers, just an example of how it works.

Its simply converting yearly salary (which he only gets if he makes the team) to Bonus money, which he gets regardless of whether he makes the team or not. And he gets it right now.

The team can now take the bonus portion and spread it out evenly over the life of the contract.

We're lowering the cap hit now by raising it later. A lot can happen later, like big salaries coming off the books, expensive players being replaced by cheaper ones, or the yearly cap going up.

Thats why I feel we need to start drafting better. Draft picks are cheap.

We also need to keep signing mid-tier free-agents. They won't break the bank and sometimes they work out very well (Goodwin, DLP, Greer, D. Thomas, Hargrove, Sharper etc...)

What will kill us are high-priced free-agents that don't pan out. The Drew Brees signings are definitely the exception, not the rule.

Re: Colston restructures his contract
 

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