Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl
On Monday, Donovan McNabb and Washington reached agreement on a five-year contract. On Tuesday, the deal’s details became public, through a source at the NFL Players Association.
McNabb’s five-year extension is worth $70 million and can get to $78.5 million if he is on the active roster for every game in those five seasons. The deal’s maximum value is $88.5 million if McNabb leads his team to a Super Bowl victory every year.
But the real question is how much he’ll actually earn and whether it will be in Washington.
One of the contract’s most significant points is a payment due this offseason, when the Redskins must decide whether to pay McNabb a $10 million option bonus. If they do, it would trigger the rest of the contract and make Washington liable for McNabb’s $2.5 million base salary in 2011.
If they don’t, then McNabb would stand to cash in. McNabb then would get to become an unrestricted free agent at a time when multiple teams will be looking to upgrade their quarterback, the position that commands the game’s priciest salaries.
On his weekly radio show Tuesday, McNabb said he isn’t worried about being cut after this season.
“I will be here next year … I’ll be here for years to come,” he said, according to The Washington Post.
“I will be here for the next couple of years to continue to turn this thing around,” McNabb said, according to the newspaper. “I think I’m happy, I hope the Redskin nation is happy. I look forward to continue to try to move this thing in the right direction.”
Option bonuses have become standard in all current deals due to the league’s financial uncertainty and the lack of a collective bargaining agreement.
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has injury guarantees that become fully vested at a future date, like McNabb.
quarterback $3.75 million in 2010 for the right to pay him $12.5 million in 2011 and control his rights.
If the Redskins cut him after the year or trade him, they are only on the hook for the $3.75 million while McNabb has his football freedom. Plus, with this deal, the Redskins now will pay McNabb $17.5 million this season — more than the franchise quarterback salary.
If McNabb suffered a catastrophic injury this season and never played again, he also would receive $25 million more.
Here is how the rest of the full deal breaks down, according to an NFLPA source:
• 2010: $3.5 million signing bonus/$250,000 if active eight games
• 2011: $10 million option bonus/$2.5 million salary/$750,000 if active 16 games/$250,000 workout/$2 million possible playoff incentives
• 2012: $12.75 million salary/$750,000 if active 16 games/$250,000 workout/$2 million possible playoff incentives
• 2013: $13 million salary/$1.5 million if active 16 games/$250,000 workout/$2 million possible playoff incentives
• 2014: $13.75 million salary/$3 million if active 16 games/$250,000 workout/$2 million possible playoff incentives
• 2015: $13.55 million salary/$2.25 million if active 16 games/$250,000 workout/$2 million possible playoff incentives
Adam Schefter