JJ Watt Contract: Last month, I said that I believed it was highly improbable that J.J. Watt and the Houston Texans would agree on a new contract deal before the start of the season. Before the contract terms were worked out, the Texans held all the sway. The star defensive end could only sign before the season with a very thoughtful approach from Watt’s agents.
Thank goodness, that’s exactly what happened with the Texans. Late Monday night, word spread that Watt had essentially consented to a long-term deal to keep him in Houston. As usual, the deal’s initial terminology was that of the agency. For NFL reporters, agents are frequently essential sources.
Watt signed the most significant contract ever given to a defensive player, making him “the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history.”
The total payment amount is where Houston would have the most fantastic negotiating room if you had started with an objective assessment of where each side was coming from. After all, the Texans would have greater flexibility to distribute their guaranteed money and signing bonus because Watt was still under contract for two seasons.
Contract math can be played with in a variety of ways. Some sums that are supposedly guaranteed merely cover injuries. But in this case, it doesn’t matter. The crucial point is that until you learn, it won’t begin until 2016; a six-year, $100 million extension sounds much more considerable.
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The Texans planned to give Watt $1.9 million this year and $6.9 million in 2015, according to Over The Cap. John McClain of the Houston Chronicle reports that the figures have been revised. Watt will earn a basic salary of around $900,000 this season and $10 million in 2015, in addition to a $10 million signing bonus.
I cannot explain how the money is structured in detail without having the entire contract in front of me. But it appears likely that this $100 million, six-year extension will last eight years.
We’ll probably discover even more math in the Texans’ advantage as we peel back the layers of the onion that is every NFL deal. This is significant because the Texans stand to gain from this transaction even under the agent-reported terms. As McClain noted, there is nothing in this contract that should be burdensome, even with the talent and injury guarantees beginning to take effect each March.
Watt is undoubtedly one of the league’s finest at pursuing the quarterback in a league where doing so is more crucial than tossing the ball. He’s still young (25), hasn’t missed a single game in his career (48 of 48 opportunities to start), and has demonstrated the ability to perform well even when the rest of his defense is a mess.
In the NFL, nothing is guaranteed. A bright career can be ended by injury at any time. But the number of assets with as much anticipated value as Watt can be counted on one hand. It is a bargain to sign Watt at his agent’s reported fee of $16.6 million per season.
According to Pro Football Talk, the salary limit might reach $160 million in 2016 due to the NFL’s new television arrangements. If that is the case, it will be simple to surpass the purported assurances in Mario Williams’ contract by that time. And keep in mind this assumes that the reported contract is accurate. Watt very definitely won’t see a significant portion of the agreement.
The Texans and J.J.Watt have reached agreement on new 6-year deal that could pay him $100M.($51.8M GUARANTEED!) pic.twitter.com/woDDE6qlMi
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) September 2, 2014
Over the last few seasons, many aspects of the Texans’ squad development have been fair game for criticism. They have extended the contracts of players whose value was not anticipated to last a long time a little too soon. The NFL draft hasn’t been too successful for them. It’s astonishing how unwilling they have been this offseason to acknowledge the necessity for a quarterback.
But this agreement is a brilliant move. Houston has a long-term, team-friendly contract with one of the NFL’s top defensive players. Similar to having a terrific quarterback, it’s the kind of contract that provides the team a lot more leeway moving ahead in other areas.
Closing
Watt will make $11,250,000 in base pay, $2,250,000 in roster bonuses, and $1,000,000 in incentive bonuses in 2022. He will also have a cap hit of $15,900,000 and a dead cap value of $18,100,000. If you are interested in learning more about the information offered in the preceding sentence, it is highly advised that you keep a constant connection to Leedaily.com.
