Yet another Stud Safety a potential Free Agent?

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath58

Yep.

One thing about front-loading contracts, because I've seen it mentioned a couple of time because of the lack of a cap.

Teams are going to want to front load deals, but I think doing so may effect the decision making of the players.

Getting your guaranteed money spread out? Security.

Getting all up-front? Not so much. Matt Cassel is an example of this. Granted, he'll get his money, but then could be out on his ass - where a player that has his guaranteed money spread out is less likely to be cut, and enjoys more long-term security - IMO.

It's likely that I don't understand how the system works, but it seems to me like getting all your money up front would help your job security. Two years from now, if I've got Matt Cassel for $500,000 because I paid him a lot up front, or I've got Matt Cassel for $3.5 million because I paid him less up front, I'm more likely to keep him if he's cheaper.

It would seem that the team has the bigger risk because the $500,000 Matt Cassel is going to be more likely to try to get out of his contract and go somewhere else.

But maybe I don't understand how the "up front" money works. I try to be logical about it, but the NFL's system is not always logical. I wish they'd just require a straight up dollars-per-year contract system so that teambuilding was more about who has the best players and less about who has the best accountants.