According to NFL Insider Mike Garafolo, the Eagles have recently upped their offer to Sam Bradford. The report on Fox sports (here) states not only that the Eagles are pushing to resign Bradford, but that it’s at the very top of what Bradford’s agent Tom Condon would be looking for.
“The terms of the offer aren’t available, but sources indicated the Eagles’ believe it’s a very strong offer for Bradford — one that’s at the top of his expected range on the open market and one that should help get him under contract before that market opens on March 9.
Though former Eagles coach Chip Kelly is the one who brought Bradford to Philly, sources have repeatedly said Howie Roseman likes what he saw from Bradford last year, as do Doug Pederson and his offensive coaching staff.”
So, the question is…just how much money are we talking? We already know that the chances of the Eagles using a franchise tag on Bradford and that there were talks of a very misleading $25m offer from Condon.
That $25m would make a lot of sense as an opening deal and as Pro Football Talk reported earlier this year, Condon also negotiated a pay cut for Peyton Manning, seeing him take a $5m cut with the chance to earn back that money as opposed to the originally proposed $10m.
If the Eagles were going to tag him, it would have likely happened by now..which infers that the offer is less than $20m.
Here’s a list of the Quarterback contract averages below what it would cost to tag Bradford..(per sportrac)
| 10 |  |
Ryan TannehillQUARTERBACK |
$19,250,000 |
| 11 |  |
Colin KaepernickQUARTERBACK |
$19,000,000 |
| 12 |  |
Jay CutlerQUARTERBACK |
$18,100,000 |
| 13 |  |
Tony RomoQUARTERBACK |
$18,000,000 |
| 14 |  |
Matthew StaffordQUARTERBACK |
$17,666,667 |
An average of $18m would see him become the 14th highest paid QB in the league in 2016..and with the Eagles recently freed up cap space, would see them with plenty of room left to potentially negotiate new deals for the likes of Nolan Caroll and maybe even Fletcher Cox.
There’s no hinting what the previous offer from Philadelphia was or just how much of an improvement the new offer is, but the fact there is already a second offer in which both sides appear to have mutual interest is very promising.
So what is this offer likely to look like?
If we’re to assume that the Eagles are going to negotiate in the same way that they have with most of their recent re-signings, then they’re going to try and minimise the effect on both the 2016 and 2017 cap..however, this is Condon who drives an incredibly lucrative and tough bargain.
The following offer is pure speculation based upon:
Condon’s valuation of Bradford,
The work the Eagles have done with the cap this season,
What different levels of Quarterback are set to make over the next few years.
From Joe Flacco’s huge deal to Matt Ryan’s steady increase through 2018,
Ryan Tannehill’s future in Miami to the large signing bonus that when removed makes Matthew Stafford’s contract look very friendly.
What essentially becomes a$100m contract over 5 years seems huge at first…and it is. BUT…
- It would be very close to Condon’s seemingly absurd $25m valuation of Sam Bradford. (Or even hit it if the contract were to become a four year deal of the same value)
- He would only make a total of over $20 in a single season once…in 2020.
- The signing bonus means that he can make $20m for three consecutive seasons..which essentially what a Franchise Tag would cost. However that clause would now be free to apply elsewhere.
- It also means that the Eagles have more flexibility in the cap for when they really need it which is at the end of the upcoming season as they’re not forking out a lump sum to begin with, leaving them more room to deal with the 2017 free agency situation (which is set to be very tricky) and declining and instead are handing out an optimistic inclining deal that would aim to reward development and form with the salary Condon seems to believe is deserving.
At $99m, it would still see Bradford ranked the 10th highest paid Quarterback in the league. Not to mention that many of the names in that bubble around him are either almost guaranteed to be offered a big deal by the time Bradford is in the middle of his or are coming to the end of a deal that would see the salary and signing bonus combine to become very similar numbers.As mentioned above this is pure speculation and a contract that is completely hypothetical..but something in this ballpark would hardly be the most shocking thing to hear.
