Originally Posted by Vinatieri for Prez
Ok, sorry to be repetitive, but here are the official contract terms for Thomas from NFL Management Council in Peter King's article on SI:
• Signing bonus: $12 million in 2007.
• Option bonus: $8 million payable in 2008, applied for cap reasons in equal $2 million increments in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011.
• Salaries: $900,000 in '07, $900,000 in '08, $1.9 million in '09, $4.9 million in '10 and $5.9 million in '11.
• Workout bonuses: $107,000 annually if he participates in the Patriots' offseason workout program in Foxboro.
• Cap numbers: In succession, beginning this year, $3.4 million, $5.4 million, $6.4 million, $9.4 million, $10.4 million.
That's right folks, that is a super low cap number for this year and even next year. Free agency is still alive and well for the Pats. That is spectacular. So much for people saying that the Branch debacle (along with Vinatieri, McGinest, Givins leaving for more money) would scare away FAs. Thomas gave the Pats a very nice deal. Based on his quotes, he just likes the Pats organization and wanted to play there badly. He never visited anywhere else. Reading the King article, it is probably true to say that if you are a selfish player only interested in money, you won't go to the Pats. If you're a humble hardworking player that wants to win and be coached well, you want to play for the Pats. I'm ok with only having the latter players on the Pats.
Peter King also said the Pats started FA with about 23 million in cap room (not the 17 discussed at patscap.com), so go figure. It looks like they are still in good shape.
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