8:37am: White will get $10MM in guaranteed money on his new deal, tweets Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com.
8:19am: White’s new deal actually only includes three new years, rather than four, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). That means he’ll be locked up through 2017, and his new deal looks much more comparable to Marshall’s three-year, $30MM extension.
8:03am: The Falcons and Roddy White have agreed to terms on a four-year extension that will keep the wide receiver under contract through the 2018 season, the Falcons announced today in a press release. ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter first reported (via Twitter) that an agreement was in place, adding (via Twitter) that the four-year deal will pay White up to $30MM, including $18MM in the first two seasons.
We heard back in May from Ian Rapoport of NFL.com that a new contract for White was expected to be in place by the time training camp got underway. Talks between White and the Falcons were temporarily put on hold, allowing the wideout to mourn his half-brother Tyron Moore Jr., who was fatally shot on May 17. However, it appears the two sides later returned to the negotiating table to work out a deal that should allow White to retire as a member of the Falcons.
White, who turns 33 in November, had a string of six consecutive seasons with at least 83 receptions and 1,153 yards, but was slowed by injuries in 2013, and totaled just 63 catches, 711 yards, and three touchdowns. The new contract is a signal that the Falcons believe he can bounce back in 2014 and beyond, acting as one of the league’s best number two receivers opposite Julio Jones.
Reggie Wayne‘s three-year, $17.5MM deal and Brandon Marshall‘s three-year, $30MM pact had been cited as points of comparison for White’s new extension. While the longtime Falcon got an extra year, it looks like his contract falls somewhere in the middle of the two overall, though he’ll earn just under $11MM in 2014, per Rapoport (via Twitter). We’ll have to wait on the full details of the agreement to determine how likely White is to earn the entire $30MM available on his new deal.
Falcons owner Arthur Blank expressed optimism earlier in the offseason that White and Jones will spend their entire careers in Atlanta, so the team figures to eventually shift its attention to an extension for the younger wideout. Jones, a former sixth overall pick, is currently under contract through 2015, after the Falcons exercised his fifth-year option for that season. As such, extension talks for the 25-year-old may not heat up until after the 2014 season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.