I swear this story was originally researched as an inside look at DeSean Jackson’s new contract deal with the Eagles…
Then the national media (including Pro Football Talk) broke another angle right on top of me— Peanut has invested his new money in the creation of a rap music recording and publishing company… Say what?
To me this is sad… that DJax is buying into the old “music production scam” run by so many cons for so long in American culture…
Somebody please grab Jackson and shake him by the nape of his neck! Did he not notice that NBC’s Date Line feature this week was about veteran’90’s rapper “Tim Dog” scamming scores of investors for mega-thousands in his alleged attempt to create phony rap “box sets” and other show biz schemes?
Wow.
The writing was on the wall about a year ago when Eagles wide-receiver DeSean Jackson dropped some $25,000 at a Los Angeles nightclub to fund his Jaccpot Records launch party. Yes, DeSean Jackson is the Chief Executive Officer of a rap label. And a rapper he employs, named Kid Cali, tweeted a receipt of a least part of Jackson’s expenditures on that night last June.
Jackson made the aforementioned investment when he was still collecting minimum base salaries. Last November, there were whispers Jackson was broke. He since signed a five-year, $47 million contract with $15 million guaranteed. Which makes you wonder how much he’s ponying up now.
Don’t get me wrong, I think DJax is a very smart young man. Pro athletes at his level are inherently intelligent. My problem is a high IQ does not compute equally to a gullible personality. There are differing types of intelligence.
Per Tim McManus of the Philly Post, “some close to Jackson are worried,” to the point where some believe he could be headed down a road of “significant financial distress.” Jackson bills it as an opportunity to help his old pals from L.A.
“It’s just a different lifestyle and things like that I’m getting into,” Jackson explained. “And just kind of helping out my boys that I grew up with, and just hopefully make it a career as far as rapping and things like that.”
As McManus put it, “it’s a champagne and diamond world he’s funding, and it ain’t cheap.”
Jaccpot Records has scheduled a new album release for late July, right around the beginning of training camp. Jackson is rapping on the album. For a preview of Jackson’s lyrical prowess, bang it here. Jackson starts rapping at the three-minute mark.
Looking at the details of the Eagles’ new contract with Jackson, it looks pretty favorable for the team. As I understand it, the base value of the deal is $47 million over five years, with escalators that could push it as high as $51 million if he plays all five years and meets them all. It also includes $15 million in fully guaranteed money and an additional $3 million in injury guarantees. Of the $15 million guaranteed, he gets $14.75 million in the first two years.
Jackson
Per a league source, Jackson gets a $10 million signing bonus and a $750,000 base salary in 2012. He gets a $6.75 million base salary in 2013, and $4 million of that is fully guaranteed while the rest is guaranteed only against injury. Of his $10.25 million 2014 salary, only $250,000 is fully guaranteed and $250,000 is guaranteed against injury. He’s eligible for a $250,000 workout bonus in each year of the deal, and his base salaries for the final two years are not guaranteed.
The upshot is that this is a deal the Eagles can easily escape after the 2013 season if they want to. And if they don’t, they can keep Jackson for salaries that likely will be well below market value in the final three years. As we have discussed already today, with the salary cap expected to jump starting in 2014 when the new TV deals kick in, the free-agent market that year is likely to be much more costly. The Eagles will have the ability to keep Jackson off of that market if they so choose.
Additionally, signing Jackson long term allows them to prorate his signing bonus over several years against the cap and buys them about $6.5 million in extra cap room this year. They were scheduled to pay him $9.5 million this year on his franchise tender.
Seems to me, when looking at the huge new contract recently awarded to Gronkowski of the Pats, that Jackson’s contract has already been discounted in relative value.
To be fair, I’ll listen to Jackson’s musical products before I pass ultimate judgement on the value of his new investment. But admittedly I am biased towards the possibility that this is not the best way for DJax to finance his future. Seems the old saying may be true, that youth is wasted upon the young… I hope I’m wrong about this.
I just don’t get why MBA types like Howie Roseman and Joe Banner didn’t get to this kid earlier on to show him how to invest his money in a more sensible and surefire way. We hear horror stories of ex-NFL stars going broke all too much. Where are the NFL protectors when it comes to financial safety and security?
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