A new Insider column on ESPN.com by Mark Dominik invites a closer look at the structure of the contract extension the Seattle Seahawks recently gave middle linebacker Bobby Wagner.
Dominik, the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager (and close friend of Seahawks GM John Schneider), put together the ultimate 53-man roster, trying to assemble the best collection of players while staying under the NFL's 2015 salary cap. Each player's 2015 cap charge was used for the exercise.
Wagner made the list.
Dominik wrote: "At one point, I had Wagner and Lavonte David on the team, but they both did new deals. Thankfully, Wagner's is much more cap-friendly in 2015, so I get him and his tremendous production starting at my weakside 'backer spot."
The Seahawks gave Wagner a four-year, $43 million extension, tacking it on to the final year of his rookie deal. The new-money average is $10.75 million over the four years of the extension, making him one of the highest-paid players at the position.
The structure of the contract is key, though. It's heavily back-loaded, with a first-year cap charge of a little over $2.97 million. That's a bargain rate for a player coming off an All-Pro season.
Of course, the big bills will come due for Wagner. His cap charges jump to $6.1 million in 2016, $7.6 million in 2017 and then exceed $13 million in the final two years of the deal, according to Spotrac.com. But by that point, the salary cap will presumably have increased significantly, making it easier for the Seahawks to fit those heftier charges into their budget. Also, the Seahawks will have had a few years to find a cheaper alternative should Wagner's skills decline to the point where the team no longer considers his performance to be commensurate with his scheduled salary.
Dominik selected another Seahawk for his 53-man roster, long-snapper Clint Gresham.
Dominik wrote: "He just signed a three-year extension with Seattle -- and if John Schneider and the cap-strapped Seahawks made Gresham a priority, then I figured I should, too."
