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Leinart, Cardinals reach agreement on six-year deal
Finally, Matt Leinart can get to work on trying to become the back-up quarterback in Arizona. After watching 255 players sign contracts before him and holding out through two weeks of preseason football, the former USC quarterback got a deal of his own on Monday night.
The tenth overall pick in this year's draft signed a six-year deal worth a maximum value of $50.8 million. He will receive $14 million in guaranteed money, and he will receive an average yearly salary of $6.75 million.
The deal ends the NFL's longest hold-out for a rookie this season at two weeks. According to Leinart's agents, Tom Condon and Ken Kremer, one of the major stumbling blocks in the negotiations was over escalators in the contract. As the contract evolves, the value of the deal will increase if Leinart reaches predetermined playing time levels that will, in turn, triggers escalators in the latter years of the contract.
Cardinals executives agreed to an escalator package similar to the deal the Jacksonville Jaguars gave their quarterback Byron Leftwich, a first-round choice in the 2003 draft. That contract, also negotiated by the same agents, Condon and Kremer, states that the escalators would be triggered if Leftwich participated in 55 percent of the Jaguars' offensive snaps for two seasons, or 70 percent of the snaps in one season.
Escalators are important for rookie players, particularly quarterbacks, because they reward the player for becoming a starter. The Cardinals initial offers contained escalator packages that were nearly impossible to attain. Leinart could have played every snap in his first three seasons, been injured in his fourth year and unable to play, and would not have realized any of the escalators in the deal.
The 22-year-old quarterback had one of the most amazing runs of any college football player in recent history. He went 37-2 as a starter at the University of Southern California, helping the Trojans to two national championships and three title games. He was the Heisman Trophy winner in 2004.
He completed 807-of-1,245 passes for 10,693 yards, 99 touchdowns and 23 interceptions while at USC.
He is expected to compete with John Navarre for the back-up quarterback position. Head coach Dennis Green has made two-time NFL MVP, Kurt Warner, his starting quarterback.
Source: AP
The tenth overall pick in this year's draft signed a six-year deal worth a maximum value of $50.8 million. He will receive $14 million in guaranteed money, and he will receive an average yearly salary of $6.75 million.
The deal ends the NFL's longest hold-out for a rookie this season at two weeks. According to Leinart's agents, Tom Condon and Ken Kremer, one of the major stumbling blocks in the negotiations was over escalators in the contract. As the contract evolves, the value of the deal will increase if Leinart reaches predetermined playing time levels that will, in turn, triggers escalators in the latter years of the contract.
Cardinals executives agreed to an escalator package similar to the deal the Jacksonville Jaguars gave their quarterback Byron Leftwich, a first-round choice in the 2003 draft. That contract, also negotiated by the same agents, Condon and Kremer, states that the escalators would be triggered if Leftwich participated in 55 percent of the Jaguars' offensive snaps for two seasons, or 70 percent of the snaps in one season.
Escalators are important for rookie players, particularly quarterbacks, because they reward the player for becoming a starter. The Cardinals initial offers contained escalator packages that were nearly impossible to attain. Leinart could have played every snap in his first three seasons, been injured in his fourth year and unable to play, and would not have realized any of the escalators in the deal.
The 22-year-old quarterback had one of the most amazing runs of any college football player in recent history. He went 37-2 as a starter at the University of Southern California, helping the Trojans to two national championships and three title games. He was the Heisman Trophy winner in 2004.
He completed 807-of-1,245 passes for 10,693 yards, 99 touchdowns and 23 interceptions while at USC.
He is expected to compete with John Navarre for the back-up quarterback position. Head coach Dennis Green has made two-time NFL MVP, Kurt Warner, his starting quarterback.
Source: AP
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