Danno

Pay him what?

SaintFanInATLHELL

The minimum that will keep him here instead of seeking a contract on the open market. I'd start with 3 years, $72 million, all guaranteed. The $24 million a year isn't absolute top dollar. But no NFL player has ever gotten a 100% guaranteed contract either. That may offer Brees enough stability to convince him to stay.

Note that the $24 million is both less than the $30 million cap hit he currently has and nearly half of the $43 million required to franchise him next year.

The bottom line is that Brees (and every other NFL player) want the stability of years and guaranteed money. NFL owners and GM want the flexibility to renegotiate dollars and the ability to cut the player before the end of the contract for poor performance. In the situation where the end of the contract will be for a player in his early 40s, keeping the years down is probably the critical item. But the only way to get that concession is to up the guaranteed money.

You could see this with the negotiation on the Von Miller contract this year. Both sides had agreed on the principal numbers ($114 million over 6 years). Denver offered only $40 million in guaranteed money in their initial offer. Only by pushing it to nearly $70 million guaranteed were they able to get the deal done. The reason is that the guaranteed money is the only real money in the contract. Every player and every GM knows that as soon as the cap payout is less than the upcoming remaining unguaranteed salary, that the contract in terms of the player is threatened. Upping the guaranteed money pushing that time further back into the contract. A fully guaranteed contract pushes it to the end of the contract.

So Brees, and rightly so, will resist attempts to build soft money into the contract as it threatens its stability. And he, and all of us should, know that he can dictate terms in the open market. That contract will likely be above market value, above 75% guaranteed, and have an extended number of years so that the club can spread out the cap hit.Think along the lines of 6 years $150 million, $110 million guaranteed. That's why I keep saying that if Brees agrees to a 3 or 4 year extension around $25 million a year, it ends up being a bargain for the Saints relative to the market.

So up the guaranteed money, limit the years, and try to get the total value as small as possible. That's the formula for getting this done IMHO.

SFIAH

Super Bowl Championships: New Orleans Saints:1, Carolina:0, Atlanta Chokers: STILL ZERO

Only Atlanta choked in an unchokable situation... Life is definitely good.