We’re still almost two months away from the start of battles on the NFL gridiron, but there’s no offseason when it comes to debate amongst fans. Earlier this summer, we launched a new series here at PFR that will be known as the Community Tailgate. What’s the Community Tailgate all about? Well, it’s pretty simple. Every weekday, we’ll highlight one of the top stories going on in the NFL. Then, in the comment section below, we want you to weigh in and let us know what you think.
Of course, while the debate may get spirited, we ask that it all stays respectful. If you need a reminder of our rules, please check out our commenting policy. Basically, we ask that you refrain from inappropriate language, personal insults, and attacks. Speaking of commenting: we’ve made it much easier to leave a comment here at Pro Football Rumors. You are no longer required to be a registered user – simply put in your name, email address, and comment and submit.
Today, we’ll be talking about today’s major franchised players who agreed to extensions with their respective teams (sorry, Stephen Gostkowski). Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant, Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, and Chiefs linebacker Justin Houston all got deals done with the deadline approaching. We want to know which extension you feel was the most surprising of the bunch.
Things got pretty frosty between the Cowboys and Bryant in recent weeks. The wide receiver threatened to hold out into the regular season if he didn’t get an extension and the NFLPA is looking into possible collusion between the Cowboys and Broncos based on a complaint from Bryant. In the end, the two sides were able to meet in the middle for a five-year, $70MM deal with $45MM guaranteed by March 2016.
All week long, we heard that there was a massive gulf between what Thomas was seeking and what the Broncos were willing to offer. Thomas was said to be seeking money similar to Calvin Johnson‘s deal but the Broncos argued that Johnson’s deal was an outlier due to the unique circumstances surrounding those negotiations. Somehow, the two parties bridged their sizable gap to agree on a deal that looks strikingly similar to Bryant’s.
While things got chippy in the Bryant and, to a lesser extent the Thomas negotiations, we didn’t hear about any discord in the Justin Houston talks. The two sides went back-and-forth quietly in recent weeks and came up with a pact worth $101MM over six years, including $52.5MM guaranteed, just beating out J.J. Watt‘s pact with the Texans. Houston fell short of Ndamukong Suh‘s $114MM+ deal, but he was never really expected to garner that kind of deal since Suh got his contract on the open market.
All in all, which deal surprised you the most and why? Let us know in the comment section below!
If it could, the NFL would have a 9 or 10 month season. Since that’s not currently possible, any way to occupy the sports news is fair game.
Does anyone really believe that these contract issues took this long & then were settled so quickly just in the “brink of time”?
I can understand the motivation of both players and teams to wait as long as they can to see if the deadline will prompt the other side to drastically change their offer. On the other hand, five years and $70MM were the figures I suggested for Demaryius Thomas LAST year, so it does seem kind of silly that they’d take so long to come to an 11th-hour agreement, risking creating some hostility along the way (between threats of holdouts and everything else).