06-02-2017, 05:32 PM
(06-02-2017, 04:33 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: Eifert isn't going to accept a $6.5m/yr deal, even if there's incentives to raise it, because the market has dictated that mediocre TE now get $7m/yr+ in FA without incentives. If Eifert hits FA, even with his injury history, he will make a lot more, and he knows it.
Comparing his situation to Gronkowski is different because Gronkowski has openly admitted he doesn't care about maximizing his contract in favor of staying with the Patriots in order to win Super Bowls. He has never won less than 12 games in the NFL, he has never missed the playoffs, he has played in 6 AFC Championship games, played in 3 Super Bowls, and won 2 of them... and he get passes thrown to him by Tom Brady. The Bengals can offer none of that to Eifert. Plus Gronkowski was still under contract for multiple years, compare to Eifert's contract year. They're just different situations.
If Eiffert hits FA he will probably get around 8 Million, a similar deal Dwayne Allen got with a similar injury history. Gronk's new contract is a $5.25 base salary then he has incentive tiers...
1st tier, which gets him to $10.75M either 90 percent play time or 80 catches or 1200 receiving yards or All Pro -- and he's made all pro four times.
2nd tier to $8.75M: he has to get 80 percent play time or 70 catches or 1000 receiving yards or 12 Tds.
3rd tier takes him to $6.75M is 70 percent playtime, 60 receptions, 800 receiving yards or 10 TDs.
So basically the same thing I am proposing with a HIGHER base than what Gronk is getting. Different situations, but what it does is it ensures the team is insulated on injuries and Eiffert can bet on himself and earn a top/the top TE deal in the game if he plays like we know he can. As I said before repeated tagging is bad for the roster management side and a gamble as an injury can occur post tag and the entire contract is a cap hit for the season.
