Jennings cashed in big on his new deal
By Tom Silverstein of the Journal Sentinel
Jun. 26, 2009 4:30 p.m.
Green Bay -- Receiver Greg Jennings had a good reason to smile the way he did this week when it was announced he had reached agreement on a new three-year extension.
The Packers handed over $26.35 million in new money to the fourth-year receiver, an average of just under $9 million per year, according to an NFL source with knowledge of the contract numbers. The deal makes Jennings one of the highest-paid receivers in the league and undoubtedly will be used as a measuring stick for the next batch of receivers whose contracts are up.
As part of the extension, Jennings was given $16.25 million in guaranteed money, including an $11.25 million signing bonus, which he received immediately. In addition, his 2009 base salary of $5 million is guaranteed.
Jennings, whose previous contract called for him to earn $535,000 this season, will have a salary cap number of $8.154 million in 2009, second on the roster only to quarterback Aaron Rodgers' $9.652 million. The Packers are $21.5 million under the salary cap after the Jennings deal.
Jennings' base salaries are as follows: $5 million (guaranteed) in '09, $1.85 million in '10, $2.7 million in '11 and $3.885 million in '12.
He also has the ability to make considerably more through bonuses and escalators.
In each year of the contract he'll make an additional $25,000 if he plays in 12 games and the Packers make the playoffs.
In '10-'12 , he can earn up to $400,000 through a roster bonus tied to the number of games in which he is on the 45-man game day roster. He gets $25,000 for every game in which he appears. He also has $300,000 workout bonuses each of the next three off-seasons.
Finally, he can earn $2.95 million over the final three years of the deal through escalators tied to playing time and team performance. He can earn a maximum of $700,000 in 2010, $1 million in '11 and $1.25 million in '12.
The fact he'll be eligible for free agency in four years wasn't lost on Jennings. The Packers either didn't request or couldn't get him to agree to a longer deal.
Proportionally, he received more guaranteed money per year than Dallas' Roy Williams, who hit the jackpot last season with a six-year, $46 million deal that included $26 million in guaranteed money. The two sides probably used Williams' contract as a marker for Jennings' deal.
Though Jennings' contract was up after this year, there was no guarantee he'd become a free agent. Unless the players and owners reach a settlement on a new collective bargaining agreement before next March, the eligibility for unrestricted free agency will go from a minimum of four years in the league to six years. Jennings wouldn't have qualified and would have been forced to play in Green Bay next year.