Lost in all the free agency hype and intensifying draft talk is DeMarcus Ware’s new contract. So, what’s the deal, why is this taking so long? Supposedly talks started up around the combine, almost a month ago.
Ware should be working on a new deal right now, but will this drag on into the season like other high profile extensions ala, Barber and Romo. I would think Jerry wants to get a deal in the bag before the draft, so we can consider the cap implications going onward to 2010 when Ware would become a free agent, but worst case scenario a franchise. I seriously doubt the contract talks would last all the way to next offseason.
I wrote this last month:
How much will Ware make?
At the very least, Ware will make about the same amount as Haynesworth. Again, Ware is clearly a better player, he’s younger, consistent, durable, and this means he could get paid even more than Haynesworth. I’m guessing Ware is looking at a $16-17million per year contract for 7yrs and $40 something in guarentees. So, 7yrs for $119 give or take, it could very well be a bit more than that and this is why Jerry is not going to pay anyone else a big contract this year. Our splash will be with Ware’s new contract, he will be thrusted into the very top of player salaries.
With the signing of Igor Olshansky, this should bode well for both Igor and DeMarcus, but more for Ware. Olshansky should pull some double-teams and will be aggressive at the line. If anything, it would be in Jerry’s best interest to get this deal done before the season starts. Ware could easily pull in another 20+ sack season and just cement himself as the premier defensive player in the entire NFL. Period.
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