Honestly if that’s true I think it is a pretty big deal and significantly bumps the odds of them getting something done.
The risk on a one-year deal for Gilmore isn’t that high and we know they don’t have great options in-house without him.
Where things get ugly IMO is if he’s insisting on an extension now. At his age, coming back from injury and depending on how much he want to get paid like a top-end CB for MULTIPLE years is where the Pats take on a lot more risk.
At one year they can bite the bullet and buy some time (and still work an extension later).
Oh, I agree with you. Frankly, I'd rather sign him to a one year extension if possible. I think hes still a great CB, and if we can snag the last few years of his career before he falls off a cliff (as lots of CBs do around 32 and 33), I think that would be the ideal situation for all parties involved. He gets 2 years of security and should be able to perform well enough to cash in one more time with a team dumb enough to pay him for his mid-30's cliff. We keep a great CB and dont lose depth at a really important position.
I'd give him a boost in pay this season, a nice payday for next season, and then let him destroy someone else's cap.
I've never understood this attitude with NFL players. With a guaranteed contract, sure. But the team will terminate a contract in a second if they think the player is worth less than the salary. Why shouldn't the player have a similar option?
Asking for fair value, rather than an extension, seems like a big deal.
I hear this a lot, and I agree more with the idea for younger guys being stuck on rookie contracts. Careers are so short, I feel like these guys should get a bigger pay day sooner.
But it's not fair to look at contracts as a year by year entity. He signed a 5/$65 contract. The view is clearly as $13ish million a year. If he gets paid $61 million in the first year, it doesnt mean he deserves a pay raise in years 2-5. It just means his agent walked circles around the NFL club and gave his client a bunch of leverage for later seasons.
The players sign the contract. If they want the financial security then they can negotiate the contract accordingly. Which is what Gilmore and his team did. His cap hit was low the first three years (around $8.5m per year). Despite that, he still made $41m, largely due to guaranteed cash. That's nearly $14m a season, which is top 5-10 in pay. He made another $14m last season. The final year of his contract is nearly immovable due to its dead cap structure. This was done with purpose. They cant cut him or trade him, and hes only "making $7m this season", while the reality is he was paid at a rate of $13m a season for 5 years. But, again, his agent structured the contract to provide him leverage.
They played the contract well, he earned a ton of money, and now they want one last dip in the pool. But let's not pretend hes "playing for below market value" because hes only making $7m this year. Hes making $7m this year because he was paid $22m in 2017 (most of any CB). He wanted the guaranteed cash up front, and now hes trying to leverage "below market value" on the back end. Hes not asking for "fair value". The contract he signed gave him fair value over 5 years.
Also, you say he wants fair value, but we have no idea what that is. He suffered a pretty serious quad injury last year. Hes on the wrong side of 30. Lets pretend you leased a car from a dealership for five years. On the 5th year, the transmission sounds like it's starting to go, but you know it'll probably last the year. Do you really want to sink money into new tires, oil, and brakes, or do you just ride it as is and move along to your next lease?
Of course Gilmore isnt an automobile - and as I stated above, I think hes a great corner and I'd try to extend him for an additional year - but we have no idea what value he'll actually provide this season. I see no reason to bump his pay this season - essentially changing his contract from 5/65 to 5/75 - with any type of guarantee.
If they want to add some extra bonuses to try and get him that cash? Sure. I think hes earned that. Games played, snap count, probowl, playoffs, INTs, tackles, allpro, SB, DPOY...whatever. Make them reasonable. If he gives us similar value as the last few years, then I'm fine with them spending that cap space to thank a player for his contributions. But, again, let's not pretend hes playing under market value.