Hampton Restructured His Deal

[steelz09]

Funny, I have never known the Steelers to work off of the idea of having leverage on their players. Every great player who has excelled on the field who they wanted to keep they have never had a problem with signing them to market value. What player in the past 10 years have they held leverage over when it came to signing them long term? Harrison? Woodley? Troy? Ben? Hines in his prime? Hampton in his prime? Aaron Smith? Ike? None. They have all been paid at or above market value with no leverage being held above their heads.

And they can franchise Wallace after next year. Essentially getting him for this year and next for an average of about 6 to 7 million dollars. That is in the best interest of the Steelers.

You may be right... but you contradicted yourself about "leverage". Using the RFA tag this year and the Franchise Tag next year is utilizing leverage. It's acceptable, and a lot of players don't like it, but the Steelers can certainly "leverage" that capability.

The Steelers typically don't allow their "key players" (the ones they want to sign) to become UFAs. They sign them before they hit the open mark (ala this year for Wallace). Both strategies will work but you're rolling the dice either way.

1) Wallace could have a blow out year, improve his stock, and leave as a UFA next year.
2) Wallace could have a similar year, his stock will stay the same, but they'll still need to shell out more money next year for a long term deal.
3) Wallace could blow out his knee, his stock will decline, and the Steelers could then sign him for cheap or let him walk
4) Wallace could put up subpar stats, his stock will decline, and the Steelers could then sign him for cheap or let him walk
5) Wallace could have a better/similar year as this year, the Steelers could franchise him and Wallace could hold out. Franchising a WR in the prime of his career isn't the Steelers style IMO.

[Crash]

Funny, I have never known the Steelers to work off of the idea of having leverage on their players. Every great player who has excelled on the field who they wanted to keep they have never had a problem with signing them to market value. What player in the past 10 years have they held leverage over when it came to signing them long term? Harrison? Woodley? Troy? Ben? Hines in his prime? Hampton in his prime? Aaron Smith? Ike? None. They have all been paid at or above market value with no leverage being held above their heads.

How many of those guys above hit the open market?

That's exactly our point.

If Wallace hits unrestricted free agency? He won't be here after 2012.

You think franchising Wallace is smart? That would be what? A $10 million HARD cap hit?

Are you nuts?

[Crash]

And by the way, Hartings was never a top O-lineman until he came to the Steelers. All his pro bowl years came as a Steeler.

I said Hartings was the top OG on the market when he hit free agency in 2001. Kiper had him as the #2 best OL on the market behind HOF-caliber Will Shields.

2. [URL="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=3524"]Jeff Hartings[/URL] | Detroit: Quality performer up front for the Lions, with some talk as well about moving Hartings from guard to the pivot position.

[URL]http://espn.go.com/melkiper/s/2001/0223/1104826.html[/URL]

Hartings, a first round pick in 1996 was a Pro Bowl alternate for the Lions in 1998 and 1999. He wasn't some schlep we signed off the street.

[steelblood]

You are correct. I meant to say "you can't restructure a guy in the final year of his contract withOUT extending said contract." Sometimes my mind works faster than my fingers.

so we did extend hampton? yuck.

[Crash]

He took a paycut from people are saying.

[Slapstick]

Actually, I'm going to reverse this and say 2 things:

1) I applaud Hampton for accepting a pay cut. Sometimes Hampton is overlooked as being a leader / "team player" but he has come through twice in a row regarding his contract ..

2) Let's reverse the quote above and ask the question: "What other options do the Steelers have?"

Hood at NT? That's unproven at best. McClendon? He was impressive last year but can he sustain that throughout an entire year? Where is the depth? I like having Hampton for one more year but significantly split his time between 1 or 2 players whether that be McClendon & a rookie, McClendon & Hood, or whatever combination.

Good move by the Steelers. Good move by Hampton.

Can Casey recover from ACl surgery?

Casey had no cards...but, I agree, it was a good move for both...

[phillyesq]

How many of those guys above hit the open market?

That's exactly our point.

If Wallace hits unrestricted free agency? He won't be here after 2012.

You think franchising Wallace is smart? That would be what? A $10 million HARD cap hit?

Are you nuts?

If you think of the franchise tag next year as giving Wallace a 2 year, $12 million dollar deal, that isn't nearly as bad.

Who knows what Wallace is asking for right now. What he and his agent need to keep in mind is that they don't have nearly the leverage that the UFA WRs do, making a Stevie Johnson level contract more appropriate for Wallace than a Vincent Jackson or even Desean Jackson level contract.

[Crash]

If you think of the franchise tag next year as giving Wallace a 2 year, $12 million dollar deal, that isn't nearly as bad.

It's also about CAP ROOM. They can't give him a $10 mil (at least) cap hit for one year.

[steelz09]

Can Casey recover from ACl surgery?

Casey had no cards...but, I agree, it was a good move for both...

Casey had no cards? What about the card that shows the Steelers have no NT alternative.

You want to go into the season with McClendon as your only NT? Yea, that's brilliant.

What about Hood? A guy that has never played NT before as your centerpiece of your 3-4 piece. No thank you.

[Dee Dub]

The franchise tag for WR next year could be around $10M after all the recent signings. That means that the team will have to come up with an extra $7.3M to take Wallace from this year's $2.7M to $10M next year. Keep in mind the cap doesn't jump until 2014. That is still alot of cap space that we don't have unless we start cutting some guys like Harrison.

That is why it is best to sign Wallace now versus franchising him next year so we can spread out the cap damage. also, if he continues to perform well, I would then expect Brown to get the 1st Round RFA tender next year.

I am only suggesting the franchise as last resort. As something the Steelers have to fall back on. What I want to see is what Wallace will do in year 4. A year he plays at 2.7 million while playing for a long term contract. Whether he sulks, sits out, becomes a distraction, or dedicates himself to becoming great. Also it would help the Steelers decision to see if Emmanuel Sanders actually develops into a bonafide receiver.

One thing we dont know about next off-season is what happens to other players. Injuries, off field issues, players aging and whether or not they slow down, etc., etc. Some of these things can and will change the Steelers overall approach and will play a part in their cap space/room.

[Dee Dub]

How many of those guys above hit the open market?

That's exactly our point.

If Wallace hits unrestricted free agency? He won't be here after 2012.

You think franchising Wallace is smart? That would be what? A $10 million HARD cap hit?

Are you nuts?

LaMarr Woodley was fanchise tagged before he signed a long term contract. Why cant they do that to Wallace (if as last resort), and avoid that $10 million Hard cap hit?

[Dee Dub]

This time next year the Steelers may no longer have Harrison (35 in 2013), Keisel (35), Taylor (33), Clark (34), Colon (30), etc. All of whom could very well save the Steelers money going forward. And Jonathan Scott (2.2 million), Larry Foote (3.00 million), and Hampton (3.00 million), Allen (1.2 million), Miller (4.2 million), all come off the books (13.6 million total), after next season.

[steelz09]

This time next year the Steelers may no longer have Harrison (35 in 2013), Keisel (35), Taylor (33), Clark (34), Colon (30), etc. All of whom could very well save the Steelers money going forward. And Jonathan Scott (2.2 million), Larry Foote (3.00 million), and Hampton (3.00 million), Allen (1.2 million), Miller (4.2 million), all come off the books (13.6 million total), after next season.

Wow .. that warrants a new thread w/ a title: "Defense Needs to Get Younger".

[RuthlessBurgher]

so we did extend hampton? yuck.

Nope. No more years added...this will still be the last year of his deal. He just took a flat-out pay cut (not a restructure). Took $2,090,000 less in salary and also eliminated a $1 million workout bonus. As far back as I can remember, I do not recall the Steelers ever working out a pay cut for a player. It's always been either players were simply cut or else they base salary was converted into signing bonus for players who have multiple years left on their contract (like Ben, Woodley, Timmons, Ike, and Colon did this year) or they added an additional year or years to a contract that was expiring (the example you gave early with Aaron Smith a year ago).

[steelblood]

Nope. No more years added...this will still be the last year of his deal. He just took a flat-out pay cut (not a restructure). Took $2,090,000 less in salary and also eliminated a $1 million workout bonus. As far back as I can remember, I do not recall the Steelers ever working out a pay cut for a player. It's always been either players were simply cut or else they base salary was converted into signing bonus for players who have multiple years left on their contract (like Ben, Woodley, Timmons, Ike, and Colon did this year) or they added an additional year or years to a contract that was expiring (the example you gave early with Aaron Smith a year ago).

Reducing salary and eliminating a bonus sure sounds like a restructuring. Lawyer talk gives me a headache.