New York Jets: Breaking Down the Darrelle Revis Contract

The prodigal son returns home. Darrelle Revis will be a Jet again. The new regime in the front office led by GM Mike Maccagnan splashed big in free agency with the long-term signing of the top cornerback prospect in Revis. This was a statement move, one that shows a bold change in direction for the franchise and a desire to start being a contender immediately. The Jets win big with this signing, not just by signing one of the best (if not THE best) at his position, but also by avoiding hitting the cap floor.

Next: Breaking down the numbers

Breaking down the numbers

Taking a look at the contract it is everything that Revis has ever wanted in a contract. 5 years $70 million with $39million guaranteed. The first two years are all guaranteed at $16 million and $17 million respectively. The third year has $6 million guaranteed with a total base salary of $15 million. The final two years have no guaranteed money with $11 million base salaries each.

The cap hit will decrease in the final three years of this contract making it a front loaded contract, a rarity in the NFL. This will give Revis the money he has always wanted, and the Jets flexibility in the future and the potential for Revis to retire a Jet. Furthermore, the Jets still have over $26 million in cap space with all the signings and trades so far up to the trade for Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Editors’s Note: Obviously this number has changed with the other signing, see the website for our most updated post on the salary cap.

Next: No Touching the Floor!

No Touching the Floor!

As part of the current CBA there is a minimum teams must pay that breaks down to 89 percent of the salary cap each year. The difference between the cap and the floor is that the floor is calculated at the end of the cycle which is 2016. So between 2013 and 2016 all NFL teams must have spent at least 89 percent of each years cap space combined. The Jets need to hit this cap floor, and if John Idzik has done anything it’s incentivize the Jets to spend the money he saved during these last two seasons of the CBA.

Spending money on Revis was a no-brainer and making the money guarantee insured the Jets could more easily hit the cap floor while offering Revis the type of money he wants, guaranteed money. While his contract will represent just under 10.3 percent of the Jets cap next season (which is a lot for one player) paying him is better than paying the league the difference between money spent and the cap floor.

Next: In the end!

Say what you will about Darrelle Revis, love him or hate him, he an easy man to understand. He is a businessman, and an incredibly skilled individual at the cornerback position. While some may say he will phone it in now that he has his guaranteed money and a fresh ring, something tells me that is not the kind of man his. He has looked out for his own interests, but when he gets on the field he leaves it all out there and has shown himself to be a true difference maker.

The Jets have locked down his services for a good amount of time (finally!). He comes to a secondary that was the laughingstock of the NFL last season and instantly upgrades a woefully deficient unit. Furthermore, if his skills show a significant decline due to age or injury in the 4th year of his contract the Jets can walk away with no dead money.

However, Jets GM Mike Maccagnan will have to balance big signings like these with frugal second chance deals that were synonymous with the Idzik era.

Next: Grading the Free Agency Moves and Trades

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