The Lions and their first round draft pick Ndamukong Suh agreed to terms Tuesday night and Suh signed the contract Wednesday upon arriving at the Allen Park facility.
It was a 5 year deal reportedly worth $60 million (with options to max at $68 million) and with $40 million guaranteed.
So, how does that compare to the #1 and #3 picks of the 2010 draft, and how does that compare to the #1 pick of 2009 (Matthew Stafford drafted by the Detroit Lions with the first overall pick)?
To compare is fraught with difficulties, the first issue being that Stafford and Bradford both signed for 6 years but Suh and McCoy both signed for 5 years. So let's do a little math and compare the contracts on a average per year basis instead of overall.
Sam Bradford (QB) got $78 million for 6 years with a possible max of $86 million and $50 million guaranteed. Ndamukong Suh (DT) got $60 million for 5 years with a possible max of $68 million and $40 millions guaranteed. Gerald McCoy (DT) got $63.5 million and $35 million guaranteed. Last year Matthew Stafford (QB) got $72 million with a possible max of $78 million and $41.7 million guaranteed.
Now to break it down on a yearly average basis:
Bradford $13 mill per year (max of $14.333 mill per year) with $8.333 mill per year guaranteed.
Suh $12 mill per year (max of $13.6 mill per year) with $8 mill per year guaranteed.
McCoy $12.7 mill per year (no idea if max or not) with $7 mill per year guaranteed.
Stafford $12 mill per year (max of $13 mill per year) with $6.95 mill per year guaranteed.
As you can see, once you reduce the totals to a per year average, Suh has a contract that guarantees him more money then Stafford and more overall if both max out. At first glance the totals make it look like Stafford is making more then Suh... but that is simply not true. Additionally, Suh's contract is much closer to Bradford's in guaranteed money then McCoys.
Further more, for it be a negotiation the Lions must have originally gone for less then this and Suh's agents for more... meaning they started out asking for the same or even more then Bradford got. It is unknown exactly which day the figures were finally agreed to and then the lesser wording was hammered out, so we can't know exactly why the holdout lasted 4 days (into training camp), but we can see that Suh's agents got more then their fair share.
So what does Suh's agent say (via Twitter)about it? How about this... Ndamukong Suh's agent Roosevelt Barnes on Suh's 5 year contract: "One of the things that was important to Ndamukong was to be able to get here, play well, and get back to the bargaining table as soon as possible. "
The man will be as equally difficult to deal with in 2015 (or 2014 or even 2013 depending on circumstances such as when they deem an extension is needed or demands for trades, etc). For a guy who doesn't like drama, he sure seems to have set the stage for a lot of it (both now and in the not too distant future).
The $40 million dollar man hasn't even defended one single snap in the NFL and already he's making his mark. One could almost expect him to play in a special uniform, one with a great big $ on his chest. Hopefully there was no kryptonite accidently used in building Ford Field.
By the way, I type this from my suite (got a GREAT deal on it, but that's another story) near Detroit and Allen Park having arrived here a couple hours ago from West Michigan after a days' work (long day). Got some business to take care of near here, some Lions practices to watch and take notes on (and report here on) and tickets to a couple of Tigers games. Keep an eye out here for my Lions Training Camp updates tomorrow through at least Sunday night.
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