6:28pm: According to CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora (on Twitter), Barwin’s new deal will guarantee the 28-year-old’s 2015 salary of $6.4MM. Furthermore, the new deal will also partially guarantee $3MM of his 2016 salary.
4:11pm: A pair of veteran edge defenders, Connor Barwin of the Eagles and Rob Ninkovich of the Patriots, have agreed to new contracts, according to reports. Adam Caplan of ESPN.com first tweeted that Ninkovich and the Patriots had agreed to adjust his deal, while Barwin himself broke word of his new contract, via Twitter.
According to Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com, the Pats have increased Ninkovich’s compensation for the 2015 season. The veteran defensive end had been set to earn $2.45MM, including a base salary of $2.1MM. However, he’s now in line for a total of $5MM this year, with $4.5MM of that amount fully guaranteed. The exact breakdown of the restructure isn’t yet clear, so it’s possible New England picked up some cap space in the move.
As for Barwin, it appears he also received a bump in pay. Multiple Eagles reporters, including Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com, have indicated that Barwin’s new deal doesn’t lower his cap number for 2015, but rather rewards him for an excellent 2014 campaign.
Barwin, who had 14.5 sacks and made his first Pro Bowl in 2014, had been set to make a base salary of $6.4MM. Mosher notes that the Eagles recently re-signed Brandon Graham for $6.5MM annually, and perhaps wanted to ensure Barwin, as the team’s top outside linebacker, is earning more than Graham, who has been a part-time player in recent years.