Got to say, after hearing this presser with Colin Kaepernick, one would think he entered into this with his eyes wide open. He understands that the deal wasn’t all about breaking the bank for himself, but more about giving the team flexibility in dealing with other player contracts dwon the road. It’s also obvious to me he wants Crabs to re-up with the team.
He was surprised it got handled as quickly as it did, but he understood what the deal offered in the way of compensation and incentives. For a young player of Kaepernick’s caliber, this is pretty monumental. For the young leader of a team to put the team’s needs WAY in front of his is a huge deal inside the locker room. It’s hard not to respect a guy who obviously gets it. That the game is about the team, not the player (side note: maybe Mike Singletary should give Vernon Davis a call). That he can subsume his personal gain for the benefit of the team. Major kudos to Colin. It’s not like he’s a poor little pauper through this, but he sure could have pushed for a lot more money and gotten it. No one would have begrudged him anything.
You know that loud groan you heard as these details came out were from Russell Wilson, Cam Newton, RG 3-13, and Andy Dalton. I’m sure their collective front offices are going to say “why can’t you be like Colin, and take a deal favorable for the team?”
Another funny side note is that all the people bitching and moaning about Kaepernick wanting to break the bank are now calling him a fool for signing in incentive-laden contract. Can’t have it both ways.
Here’s the press conference from Wednesday:
http://abc7news.com/sports/kaepernick-talks-about-contract-extension/94075/
Forty Niners Forever 
You’re an idiot.
Trent recruited Harbaugh? Bullshit. I don’t care the past connections the two men had while Jim was at Stanford. Harbaugh had connections all over the NFL. Harbaugh wasn’t limited to Trent Baalke’s friendship. Did you know that Harbaugh played in the NFL as a quarterback, NJ? Did you know that? Did you know Harbaugh coached in the NFL with the Raiders? He could have had that job in Oakland if he wanted it. DId you know Harbaugh’s brother coached in Baltimore? I don’t know if you knew that. Harbaugh was well connected with people all over the NFL.
The reason Jim Harbaugh took the 49ers’ job was because the team had some nice pieces in place already that Mike Nolan, Mike Singletary and Scot McCloughan drafted and developed. The 49er had a good to awesome offensive line that Mike Singletary was largely responsible for drafting. Mike Singletary dumped McCloughan weeks before the draft so Singletary could get a power O line – he drafted Davis and Iupati…. and Taylor Mays. It was widely reported Singletary and Baalke didn’t like each other.
Harbaugh saw the line Singletary put in place, the running back McCloughan found (Gore), the tight end (Vernon Davis) that Nolan found, the D line Nolan brought in, the linebackers McCloughan drafted and Singletary coached, and Harbaugh saw this team was very close to competing if Harbaugh could just find a franchise qb. And guess what, NJ? Franchise qbs might just be Jim Harbaugh’s forte? Isn’t it?
Jim Harbaugh saw that right in his backyard there was a floundering NFL team that he could rejuvenate and turn into an immediate contender. Trent Baalke had nothing to do with the recruiting process. What did Baalke say? “Hey Jim…. Yeah, I’m the default GM because Singletary (who was unceremoniously fired btw) dumped our real GM, McCloughan, weeks before the draft.
You’re right, NJ. Baalke’s experience must have been a huge selling point during Harbaugh’s selection process. Thank god for Baalke.
And you’re a Moron – What’s your point?
Subversive from within aren’t you?
See it whatever way you choose to Spit – you’re one myopic SOB anyway.
It is what it is.
Ballke is the GM.
Jim is the HC.
Deal with it, however it came about it.
Richard Sherman signed a 4 year / $56 million contract with the Seattle Seahawks, including a $10,771,970 signing bonus, $12,431,000 guaranteed,
and an annual average salary of $14,000,000.
•$12.431M fully guaranteed (Signing Bonus + 2014 base)
•2015 Base Salary fully guarantees 5 days after 2015 super bowl.
•2016 Base Salary + $5M of 2017 Base Salary guarantees 5 days after 2016 super bowl.
Colin Kaepernick signed a 6 year / $126 million contract with the San Francisco 49ers, including a $12,328,766 signing bonus, $61,000,000 guaranteed,
and an annual average salary of $21,000,000.
•$12.97M initially guaranteed (2014 salary + signing bonus)
•2015 salary fully guarantees on 4/1/15
•2016 salary fully guarantees on 4/1/16
•2017 salary fully guarantees on 4/1/17
•$5.2M of 2018 salary fully guarantees on 4/1/18
•2015-2020: $125,000 per game bonus
•Potential $12M of de-escalation at $2M per year from 2015-2020.
This can be voided annually with 80% of snaps AND
Super Bowl Appearance or 1st/2nd Team All-Pro•
Must purchase (after-tax dollars) a disability policy for $20 million if suffers career-ending injury paid to 49ers
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
We all want Kaep to stay healthy and play out his deal, that makes everyone happy but, just in case….
Paraage has a disability rider attached which Kaep can afford now.
I see nothing in Dicks’ Contract terms where he’s agreed to de-escalators –
That’s the difference it makes.
The two deals are similar in that both can be voided at the end of the year if their respective teams desire. This is a relatively new concept first seen as far as I know with the Sherman deal, followed by Kaep. Actually, Smith’s deal was like this as well. Kaep’s bonus, or de-escalator as you call it, is for a ring or second team All Pro or better. There’s no mystery to the bonus. You make second team All Pro, or you get a ring and you get paid more. It’s not a poison pill you turd.
Kaep intentionally signed a deal well below fair market so the 49ers would be contenders. You keep claiming Kaep was stupid or his agent was stupid and I’ll make good on my threat to go to NJ and slap the taste out of your mouth. This debate passed stupid years ago…. Pull your head out of your ass, NJ.
De-escalate does not equate to Bonus either you putz.
Bonuses are typically attached as incentive clauses.
Good health to Kaep, may he achieve every penny of his deal.
We’re gonna agree to have our differences of opinion on the contract language Spit.
I just want to see Kaep get us a Ring or 2 before he sees the end of this deal.
Where’s the Chuck? The inmates are running the asylum!
Woof!
Bleep!
The deal is what it is. No need to parse into oblivion. The talking heads out there say either Kappy’s a stud for leaving a lot on the table, or he’s a rube for letting his agent get hoodwinked. Which is what you guys are saying.
Thhng is, Kappy specifically told his agent to not go balls out on the deal, and that is how they worked it. Advantage Kappy.
Good for the team, and Kappy still gets a shitload of money. Is it Manning money? No. Does Kappy care? Apparently not. Which IS good. Because the Ravens cratered last year mainly due to the Flacco contract.
But seriously, when you are dicking over $19 mill compared to $16 mill (or whatever fucking numbers they are) it’s fucking ridiculous money anyway, so in the end it’s bragging rights. I think the bragging rights Kappy wants are of the Super Bowl variety. With that being said, I think Manning would trade $50 mill of his salary for a trophy or 2. As would Rogers or Worthlessberger. And those guys already have one. Brady already did take a smaller deal to keep the Pats relevant. Think Cutler would gladly lose money for a shot a brass ring? Romo? Well, maybe not Tony . . .
I don’t know that I agree that it’s just bragging rights. Manning certainly knows the difference between 15 and 19 million. He can do a lot with that 4 million. A younger player like Kaep doesn’t know the spending power or leverage of 4 million. You can’t really blame Manning or label him greedy. He does a lot of good in communities all over the world. I guess it’s just a matter of how much control you want. Manning wants control by maximizing contracts and giving back to communities. Kaep doesn’t want as much control over potential revenue, and he just gives back to his team.
The best thing about what Kaepernick’s done is he’s creating a standard for his team. Vernon Davis is f’n that standard up, but after Vernon is swept under the rug, Kaep’s standard for the team will remain. That standard is….. “I don’t get paid until I win rings.”
One thing I don’t understand about Kaep’s contract, and maybe someone can enlighten me…. Let’s say Kaep wins a Super Bowl in 2014 and gets paid 2 million more. What happens if he doesn’t win a Super Bowl or make at least second team All Pro in the following year…. 2015? Is the 2 million extra paid on a year by year basis? I hope so.
Yes it is, each year he can lose $2 mil regardless of the year before. I haven’t looked at the Sherman contract at all but if NJ is right his guaranteed money is $23 mil +-, that’s $10 mil more than our franchise QB. Kap signed it so it’s over.
This is what you and I have been banging heads on Spit –
The De-Escalators –
For him to keep $12M of this deal –
He’s got to take 80% of the Offensive snaps each year
And
Make the SB
Or
1st/2nd Team Pro Bowl.
That’s some crazy language to me.
Test
test 2
BLEEP 3!
Woof! Bleep! Test!
ARF!
don’t know if anyone has seen this
http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/129583/inside-slant-colin-kaepernick-ramifications
There are a lot of QB deals coming up, so we’ll see how Smith, Newton, Wilson, and Ginger do.
And the scenario where QBs are making double what Kappy makes is far-fetched at best.
Love the fact that Kaep took this deal Chuck.
All things considered, I thought his Miami situation clouded negotiations just enough.
I really don’t get the language used in the de-escalators though.
That’s some strange-a$$ sh!t right there.
All we can do now is watch, and see if he turns into our franchise QB.
Chuck, a snippet from the far fetched:
“Early projections for Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck and the Seattle Seahawks’ Russell Wilson, who will be due new contracts next offseason, suggest a jump to $25 million annually. As early as 2015, then, Kaepernick’s deal could be paying him half of what Luck and Wilson might be receiving.”
Taken from this article:
http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/129583/inside-slant-colin-kaepernick-ramifications
And bear in mind, this “far fetched” possibility assumes the best case scenario of Kap attaining those de-escalators.
Not only is it not far fetched but i would say it’s almost a certainty that several of those other guys will earn at or close to double Kap salary, certainly on the years they sign their deal since they will get a signing bonus and salary whereas Kap got just one of those items. I am surprised he took such a team deal but that is OK with me, allowing de-escalators on top of such a team friendly contract will amount to insult to injury if they trigger.
The writer of the above piece uses Culpepper as an example of what happens once a player becomes aggrieved with his way below market contract, something I wrote about last week. That is my real concern with it. If he plays up to expectations he is a top 5 QB getting paid at 12th in the league and around 16th/17th if he loses $2 mil. Those are the kinds of things that can come back to bite the team, being too greedy in the negotiations.
I guess it’s possible he just doesn’t care in which case there is nothing to worry about but I think that’s unlikely in the long run and we will see this turn nasty around 2016
My understanding is that the de-escalator stops for the duration once Kaepernick goes to the Super Bowl or is named All-Pro first or second team. He doesn’t have to do it every year.
Seems reasonable since if the team’s chances fall apart due to say, the defense breaking down he can still get named All Pro for individual effort and earn the bonus money for the remaining life of his contract.
As I said earlier, he could still go the way of the Sanchez so I don’t see all the heartburn over the team trying to stay in business with contingency planning. If he plays well he’ll get paid well and if he doesn’t, why should he?
Oink!
That is different to what I read NF but if you are right it makes at least the poison pill part of the contract bearable. It is still way under market but that is his choice, let’s hope he can live with it.
Yes, that’s how I saw it too, NoFear. You hit it once, and all the de-escalators go away. Thing is, if Kappy is doing very well this year, he certainly won’t hit the 80% of the plays mark. If we play our usual stodgy offense, he will.
Besides, say he wins a Super Bowl next year (or this), I think the team would be willing to work out something with him for the future. He’s still young, and maybe these other guys pass him up salarywise. Who’s to say he gives a shit? The fact he signed this one fully realizing the ramifications makes me think he doesn’t really judge his worth by his bank account.
Here’s Kappy’s base salary for thre next 7 years.
2014 645,000
2015 12,400,000
2016 13,900,000
2017 16,500,000
2018 17,000,000
2019 18,800,000
2020 21,000,000
Plus the $2.3 mill signing bonus parcelled out over the next 6 years. Plus the de-escalators which would pretty much cancel out the signing bonus. So, you think Andrew Luck will be making $33 mill in a couple years? I don’t. If so, Indy can become the next Baltimore Ravens team. A high-priced QB with little else.
I hope Seattle DOES throw the baby out with the bathwater in dealing with Wilson (and Newton/Luck as well). No matter how much that cap number goes up, they’ll still be crippled by those deals. I wonder if this will start a new way of writing deals. Wilson is in the envieable position of having won it all. His teammates are already jumping ship for the money. He gets a huge deqal, the exodus will continue faster.
New thread is up.