Understanding Charles Godfrey's Extension
by James Dator on Feb 12, 2012 1:20 PM EST
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PrintThere's one thing that has really been annoying me this season and that's the talking heads in the area misleading the public into believing Charles Godfrey is somehow the highest paid safety in the NFL, and/or making them believe he's somehow getting paid more money than the Steelers Troy Polamalu (which is a blatant lie); yes, 'The Drive' on WFNZ I'm talking about you. I know it makes for great radio and this kind of rabble rousing gets the public all worked up against Marty Hurney, but please use some facts here.
Today I'm going to attempt to get all of this straight by showing you how the contract is broken down, and why despite what compelling, baseless arguments radio will have you believe neither is Godfrey's deal cap prohibitive, nor does it resemble Troy Polamalu's contract in any way.
Breakdown after the jump
The contracts
- Godfrey: 6 years, $28.7 million, $12.4 million guaranteed
- Polamalu: 4 years, $36.5 million, $10.55 million guaranteed
Rabble rouser's reaction: "WHAT!?!?!?! Godfrey is getting more guaranteed than Polamalu! RAGE!!!!"
My reaction: Godrey's guaranteed money equates to a cap hit of $2.06 million per season, Polamalu's equates to a cap hit of $2.63 million per season.
The details of the contract or, "Stop trying to mislead the public"
It's here where fans are getting the wool pulled over their eyes, and it's wholly frustrating. The decision to re-structure Polamalu's deal was to give the Steelers immediate cap relief as he was entering the final year of his contract at $6.4 million. In re-structuring he reduced his yearly salary in 2011 to $3.45 million, but on the back three years of the deal he's scheduled to make upwards of $10 million per year. This deal was for one year relief.
Meanwhile in Carolina here's what Godfrey's deal looks like:
2011: $600,000
2012: $700,000
2013: $1.6 million
2014: $5 million
2015: $5 million
2016: $5.3 million
Anyone care to guess when the Panthers are planning to part ways or restructure the deal? That's right, after 2013. We see these kind of deals all the time, backloaded with money the player will never see. This is what is happening with Godfrey's deal. To offset this they gave him a larger chunk of guaranteed money, but when you look at it in terms of the life of the deal it's rather minuscule, especially how they broke down the guaranteed money.
$12.4 million guaranteed
$5 million signing bonus
$5 million roster bonus in 2012
$400,000 in workout bonuses 2012-2016
$2 million in other guaranteed money
It's the roster bonus here that's important, because unlike a signing bonus I can't be spread over the term of the contract and must be paid in full. This hamstrings the Panthers a little in 2012, ultimately his cap hit will be around $6.9 million this year. Granted, this is a lot... but he'll make under $3 million in 2013, important because it frees up money for a Jonathan Stewart extension.
Final analysis
Please shy away from the rabble rousing on the Godfrey deal, because there's a lot of intentional misinformation flying around to make for good radio. Charles Godfrey is not making more than Troy Polamalu, not unless the Panthers keep him in 2014, without re-structuring, which wont happen- if you know NFL contracts you know this will be the case.
In looking at the details this is a shrewdly constructed deal that pays Godfrey a lot of money in 2012 when we don't have any players to really worry about re-signing. Yes, it impacts the Panthers' ability to sign free agents this season but the MO of this team will be to build through the draft and retain their own talent, Godfrey's deal allows for that.
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Great info, James. Media jerks don't understand how NFL salaries work, nor do they want to. They'd rather create a controversy.
"Love is like a booger. You keep picking at it until you get it, then wonder what to do with it." : Author Unknown
Good article
it makes me appreciate what MH does getting us under the cap
Thanks for the information James ...
@ Rick Bates: you hit the nail on the head dude. Exactly right
Most people simply don’t understand contracts in general. Hurney IMO, has done a good job while he’s been here, even when everyone else was calling him an idiot and calling JR a cheap skate. It’s frustrating to hear people bash him when he brought us guys like Peppers, Gross, Gamble, T. Davis, D Will, Beason, Stewart and Newton. WOW … he must be a complete moron. < You can insert sarcasm here :)
"if you see my face again, it means I scored again" Steve Smith..
These "Talking Heads" prey on the casual fans lack of understanding
When I see things like this it drives me crazy. People perceive contracts based on many things such as draft position and profile. I found this example on the CO comments this morning.
doyouthinkyoucantellJust because Otah was drafted where he was and has a higher profile people actually think he’s making big money. Because Godfrey got that extension when we were backing up Brinks trucks people think he’s making huge money. The media uses these perceptions to generate ratings and don’t seem to care what damage it causes
Cutting the fat of Otah saves $8 million.
"Beer, both the cause of and solution to all of life's little problems." - Homer Simpson
That comment is an insane and blatant lie... you can find them everywhere
For those interested here is what Otah is making:
2012: $1,076,250, 2013: Free Agent
It’s like a magician “Watch me turn $1 million in $8 million!”
I knew what you meant.
If the so called Journalists and experts did their jobs a little better we may not have as many fans who are this confused. It would also help if we could get people to stop listening to the CO and WFNZ for their information, but ESPN isn’t much better. Unfortunately the vast majority of fans are ok with sounding like they know what they are talking about rather than actually knowing. They read or listen to just enough to be dangerous. One person pulls this stuff our of their a*$ and posts it on the CO and then 5000 people now share this morons opinion. If Person was doing his job there would have been a story on the cap values and where the panthers stand by now and this comment likely never happens.
"Beer, both the cause of and solution to all of life's little problems." - Homer Simpson
They robably had Otah & Davis contracts confused.
I believe Davis is scheduled 8 mil this year if they don’t rework his contract.
STICK THE KNIFE IN AND TURN IT!!!!!
Thanks for this James
I’d rather have no reporting at all that lazy or blatantly false journalism. Thankfully, that’s never an issue here at CSR.
Follow me on Twitter at @JakeHumphrey91
I concurr
They just looked at the guarenteed money and that was it what else would you expect from a profesesion that looks more at a box score then game tape.
"If I have to find Jesus does that mean he is hiding ?" THE SOESBEAST " death solves all problems, no man no problem" Joseph Dzhugashvili
by allthatremainsstillowns on Feb 12, 2012 3:24 PM EST reply actions
Thanks for the clarification
Although I’m not entirely sure that they will cut him / restructure after 2013. I might be in the minority, but I still think Godfrey can be a damn good safety if someone will just sit him down and teach him the fundamentals on tackling. He’s a ball hawk, and he has all the talent to be a great safety. He just needs to learn how to wrap up.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the Panthers see this too, and are using this contract as an opportunity to see if he’ll develop into his full potential. If he can, then 5 mill a season isn’t all that bad. If not, then yeah, you cut him or restructure. Really, it’s a pretty good contract for the team. Because it gives you either option.
his tackling isnt so bad save that Hillis run last year
I think he just looks so much like Martin with a helmet on he gets mistaken for him. Your safeties should complement each other they dont they are both good and decent when the ball is in the air need to replace Martin with a better ground safety.
"If I have to find Jesus does that mean he is hiding ?" THE SOESBEAST " death solves all problems, no man no problem" Joseph Dzhugashvili
by allthatremainsstillowns on Feb 12, 2012 3:44 PM EST up reply actions
His tackling actually is that bad.
Someone posted a few weeks ago that he had one of the worst missed tackle percentages in the league.
Follow me on Twitter at @JakeHumphrey91
by Jake Humphrey on Feb 12, 2012 3:52 PM EST up reply actions
Admittedly, I'm out of the area and only got to watch about half the games this season
But every time I watched it seemed like Godfrey would just lower his head and try to kill the ball carrier. More often than not this led to him missing the tackle (often missing the ball carrier entirely). Unlike Martin, who seemed to take bad angles and be out of position, Godfrey was usually where he needed to be to make the play. He just couldn’t finish with a tackle.
That seems like a fair assessment.
Godfrey’s issues stem from trying to kill the ball carrier instead of wrapping up. Martin’s issues came from looking completely fucking lost out there.
Follow me on Twitter at @JakeHumphrey91
by Jake Humphrey on Feb 12, 2012 4:11 PM EST up reply actions
Allright then maybe I dont confuse them that much at all then
man that alias sports bereau has to keep track of alot of stuff. Ironically the new nfl rules force the player to be more fundamental with his tackling maybe they aren’t as bad as fans make it sound after all.
"If I have to find Jesus does that mean he is hiding ?" THE SOESBEAST " death solves all problems, no man no problem" Joseph Dzhugashvili
by allthatremainsstillowns on Feb 12, 2012 4:26 PM EST up reply actions
I feel it necessary to post this again.
Proud Member of Cat Scratch Reader and coiner of the (minus Bowers) meme
Niiice!
~A bullet may have your name on it...but grenades are addressed 'to whom it may be concerned...'
by boywonderncsu on Feb 13, 2012 9:14 AM EST via Android app up reply actions
According to Rotoworld Polamalu's guaranteed 10+ mil was a signing bonus
So he got that 10+ mil up front, plus he probably got a salary for this year and 1 for every other year. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that 36.5 million for 4 years is going to equate to more than 28.7 mil for 6 years.
STICK THE KNIFE IN AND TURN IT!!!!!
just out of interest
Where do you guys get the information regarding players contracts from? Would be interesting to see how some of our other contracts are broken down
Save us Pilares
by LimeyPanther on Feb 12, 2012 7:39 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Rotoworld has a lot of contract information.
Follow me on Twitter at @JakeHumphrey91
by Jake Humphrey on Feb 12, 2012 8:01 PM EST up reply actions
There's a bunch of places you can go.
Some have better break downs than others. Rotoworld is good but you can always start with Google if you want more sources
"Beer, both the cause of and solution to all of life's little problems." - Homer Simpson
What's the point
of these back-loaded deals? Do the players know they’ll never see this money? How much incentive is there if they know they’ll never see a lot of that money?
Back-loading contracts
Is a way for the teams to keep players at lower cap figures and restructure the deal later to continue to do the same. It’s one of the many many ways the salary cap can be manipulated. The fact is if a player outplays his contract or even meets expectations the majority of these deals do get into the back end before they are restructured unless the team is just desperate for cap space. The player also receives all guaranteed money weather or not they ever reach the end of the contract. Add to that the added stature that comes with one of those big deals and the fact that all teams do it and it’s just how it is and you have a deal that helps the team and still is attractive to the player. Does anyone actually know what Albert Haynesworth made off of the 100 million dollar contract? No they just remember the total it could have been worth.
"Beer, both the cause of and solution to all of life's little problems." - Homer Simpson
The players know they'll never see the money, but it's part of the 'game' played with the hard cap.
I’m under the understanding negotiations go something like this:
TEAM: Now ________ we want to keep you here long term, but in order to keep the team strong we need you to restructure.
PLAYER: Okay, but I need something out of it too… I’m set to make $8 million this year.
TEAM: How about this- we’ll do a backloaded $30 million extension for the next 5 years. That’s making like 6 million for the next 5.
AGENT: C’mon now… we know he’s never going to see the end of that deal. You’ll have to give my client some incentive.
TEAM: How about we guarantee $14 million of it?
An average deal for a player you want to keep will have big money stretching out for the entire term of the contract, like Beason’s which moves from $5 million to $8 million, not a huge leap over the term of a deal. Someone you’re not sure about is rewarded with more guaranteed money, but backloaded heavily so the team can save.
In short: Beason will likely see all $50 million of his extension, Godfrey wont see all of his and likely only see around $17 million of his deal.
by James Dator on Feb 12, 2012 10:05 PM EST up reply actions
Thanks!
Makin’ a little more sense now.
by pantherdiehard on Feb 14, 2012 8:25 PM EST up reply actions
Nice article James
I believe he will be worth the money after 2013 anyways. Do you think you could do one for Deangelo Williams extension haha
by Martin LatinFire Gonzalez on Feb 12, 2012 8:24 PM EST reply actions
this is a nice article comparing godfrey's contract with troy's to prove the media wrong
but I think we should be comparing his contract to the average safety salary, not Troy’s.
I want the numbers breakdown to see if Godfrey truly warrants his contract. I don’t think he’s a great safety but I do believe he is respectable. So when I first saw the contract details this past season I wasn’t sure if he was being overpaid, especially in light of how we overpaid CJ and D Will this past off season.
Thankfully we have those resources:
http://www.spotrac.com/top-salaries/nfl/safety/
Here is Godfrey’s salary ranking over the term of this deal in terms of cap hit:
- 2012: 19th
- 2013: 15th
- 2014: 5th
- 2015: 2nd (only 4 safeties under contract for 2015)
- 2016: 1st (only safety currently under contract for 2016)
His cap hit is it’s most expensive in 2016 at $7.3 million, which would be 6th in 2012.
by James Dator on Feb 12, 2012 10:09 PM EST up reply actions
So it is two more years and bye bye.
Unless they redo the contract once more.
I am a proud supporter of troll hunting.
by bigred28655 on Feb 12, 2012 11:23 PM EST up reply actions
Good Journalism is such a lost art form.
Agree James with the fact it seems most so called reporters or news sources rather just spout out alot of crap than do the research to prove the correct point they are trying to make. Them to asswipes on “The Drive” are more concerned with their twitter accounts than reporting actual facts about the subjects they discuss. The show makes me sick how it has come to this. I wish “Pac” was still on there at least he would not spout out about himself all show long.
rec'd
Follow me on Twitter at @JakeHumphrey91
by Jake Humphrey on Feb 12, 2012 10:47 PM EST up reply actions
The Drive for me is another means of ENTERTAINEMENT.
It’s entertaining while listening to it on the way from school and the interviews with the players are refreshing but in terms of facts, statistics, and such, I wouldn’t rely on them. Sometimes I doubt that they’re really that in-tune with the team.
"Hope for the best plan for the worst"
"They laugh at me because I'm different, I laugh at them because they're all the same"
Excellent Post!!!
James, can we have something similar to this breakup for all the contracts we extended in 2011. I guess, the roster bonus for all them to be given in 2012 will be the biggest thing impact our 2012 cap?
I still like Godfrey
Though Godfrey does miss some tackles, I think a full offseason with Rivera and McDermott will do him wonders. Rivera knows how to tackle, and his new secondary coach will help him out too. Godfrey’s speed and athletic ability makes him a better option. I never understood why people thought his contract was overblown, it might have just seemed like a big figure because many people only look at the total value of the contract and not the “fine print”.
Good post as well, I’d like to see one done on TD when he gets a new contract.
by Cam2SmittyAllDay on Feb 13, 2012 10:36 AM EST reply actions
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