Mario, Antonio Smith, Daniels, Walter comes to mind. I don't keep up with salaries in the NFL like I do with NBA. So I can't remember any further. The Texans MO is basically pay every one of their success stories big, 2nd contracts. Then cut only what's necessary to keep themselves under the cap. For example, Winston and Ryans after they splurged on Joseph/Manning the previous year.
"There is no arguing the fact that Johnson has always been underpaid. He had been as productive as any of the top paid receivers in the NFL but never reached those financial thresholds. For players considering representing themselves in contract negotiations Johnson’s career should be studied closely and perhaps a warning sign for either not looking for an agent or at least consulting with someone well versed in the NFL contracts and the salary cap. Johnson represented himself in 2007 when he signed a 6 year extension with the Texans. Johnson had two years remaining on his rookie contract at the time so this extension would take him to the age of 33, meaning it would be the only big contract of his career. Johnson had been scheduled to earn $15.7 million in the 2007 and 2008 seasons of his rookie contract and would have likely increased that number to $16.7 million via escalators. In his negotiated extension he received a raise of just $3.325 million, none of which would be paid until 2008. He was guaranteed next to nothing and the contract structure was such that he never carried a cap hit in the extension years that would exceed $8.65 million. In addition the signing bonus was so small that he could have been released very quickly had he been injured or ineffective. For that tiny guarantee and raise he was locked in at a price of $7.468 million per year for the next 8 years. The following season Larry Fitzgerald received a contract extension from the Arizona Cardinals that was worth $10 million a year and only added another two years onto Fitzgerald’s contract. Fitzgerald received $20 million in real guarantees and millions more in injury protection. Fitzgerald played on a better team and had better numbers but the contract terms were a major difference. After back to back 1,500 yard seasons in 2008 and 2009, Johnson made it known he needed a new deal. The problem for Johnson was that the contract he negotiated for himself in 2007 was so bad that he had destroyed any leverage possible. This go around Johnson hired an agent but there is only so much that could be done. The Texans basically eased the situation adding another two years onto his contract to make him happy. In terms of base contract value Johnson only received a small raise. Originally set to earn $13 million in 2010 and 2011, Johnson would now earn $17 million, a $4 million raise. His 2012 through 2014 seasons remained identical. Unlike other high end receivers Johnson’s contract contained escalator clauses that, if earned, would push his average contract value over the first five years of the deal to $50 million, thus matching Fitzgerald’s annual value of $10 million a season. *To reach the full numbers Johnson would be required to finish in the top 5 in any of a number of receiving categories. Johnson ended up earning all but $2.2 million of the escalators. In addition Johnson stood to lose at least $1 million a season in the 2012 to 2014 seasons if he held out his services. While the contract did earn Johnson some added guarantees they paled in comparison to other players and Johnson could still have easily been released after the 2011 or 2012 seasons.* He was one of the best bargains in the NFL- a top quality player with almost no ability to hold out and playing under reasonable salary cap allocations. The Texans would make a mess of his contract over the years with constant restructures (his contract was reworked every year for cap relief), but the base deal was extremely team friendly. While the deal would be a slight victory for Johnson it was short lived. Fitzgerald would put about 100 less receiving yards than Johnson in 2010 and 500 less yards than Johnson’s 2009 season he used as leverage for his contract, but would be rewarded with a monster contract in 2011 that averaged over $16 million a season with $45 million in various guarantees. Since that time Johnson has caught 21 more passes for 334 more yards than Fitzgerald. On a per game basis it’s no contest as Johnson averages 89.5 yards a game to just 66 yards a game for Fitzgerald. Despite that Johnson was paid just $36.8 million compared to $51.65 million for Fitzgerald from 2010 to 2013. Since that time Johnson’s contract has been surpassed by the likes of Percy Harvin, Mike Wallace, and Dwayne Bowe, who have a total of five 1,000 yard seasons between the three of them. Johnson has seven. Of those seven, four are for more than 1,400 yards. It’s a travesty that Johnson has been paid the way he has, but these were mistakes or miscalculations that were made back in 2007 and more or less compromised his entire earning potential. Now he is left staring at a rebuilding team with no QB to throw him the ball. He knows odds are he’ll be released following the season but with the likes of Ryan Fitzpatrick throwing him the football his stats stand to suffer and as a 34 year old free agent teams are going to say that it was age related more than team related and he’ll finish his career as a bargain player for some other organization. He probably deserved better but the NFL is a tough business and players should beware of what one bad decision can do to your financial future."
The #Texans' first OTA is wrapping up now. As he said he wouldn't two weeks ago, Andre Johnson did not participate. well I guess that a wrap.. For Johnson... I want to say thanks for the help you did for Houston Texans and the city of Houston.....
Any updates on the AJ situation? These days are moving so slow without him. The back of the Texans website replaced AJ and DeAndre and put JJ and Arian up instead. Man, I really don't want to lose him. He's [to me] the face of Houston athletics.
none of us do... it's up to Andre to decide what's best for him. i hate to see him tarnish his Texans legacy with this nonsense. oh well, at least with all the injuries over past 2 years the Texans know the motto "next man up" through & through. the last thing i want to see is Andre sit out camp, and come back for the season and have an injury riddled season. that would ensure him getting cut.
Andre is in town, someone tweeted a picture of him eating at Blue Fish. I think he'll be there for mandatory mini camp.
Marketing, a 19 year old graphic design intern and the 22 year old web content manager aren't in cahoots with anyone in the organization trying to send subliminal messages... at most you have PR aware of all the questions and coverage, just replacing the image with something less controversial.
man, it really hurts seeing all these news articles of the jets/pats trying to make plays at getting him if he can be patient one more time, i think it'll pay off. i can honestly say i believe in BOB taking over than kubiak did when capers was fired... i really hope AJ stays a Texan
Meh, I don't have much patience for prima donnas, no matter who you are, you aren't more important than the team overall. If you can't be bothered to go to OTA's, you'll find yourself in the doghouse quick. I think he's probably a cap casualty next year.
