Contract details for Andre Smith are beginning to emerge. Joe Reedy tweets that the deal is four years worth "$26M with $21M guaranteed. There is an option after 2010 that would push the deal to $42M over 6 yrs. Max: $50M"
From all appearances, the pay is less than expected. However, if you factor in that Smith's deal is only four years -- he's the only first round draft pick to sign a four-year deal -- the contract is in-line with the slotting system when talking about guaranteed money.
| Draft Pick | Year | Guaranteed |
| Matt Stafford | Six | $6.95 million |
| Jason Smith | Five | $6.6 million |
| Tyson Jackson | Five | $6.2 million |
| Aaron Curry | Six | $5.67 million |
| Mark Sanchez | Five | $5.6 million |
| Andre Smith | Four | $5.25 million |
| Darrius Heyward-Bey | Five | $4.6 million |
| Eugene Monroe | Five | $3.85 million |
| B.J. Raji | Five | $3.54 |
Now it appears that there's a ton of money tied up the club option, which we think was the compromise that made Keels satisfied, while giving the Bengals the power to exercise the use of that money. If Smith hits his maximum $50 million, which we presume will include the club option fifth year, he'll get $10 million a year. That's still below Darrius Heyward-Bey's $54 maximum. But now we're just being picky. He's in camp. What else could we ask for?
UPDATE: I need to remind everyone that the specifics of the deal is still rolling in. We posted what Reedy posted above, however, there's seems to be more details. The overall four-year deal worth $26 million and $21 million guaranteed is accurate. However, Adam Schefter writes, the club option is for two seasons, which would, basically, make it a six-year deal for $42 million with $29.5 million guaranteed. The guaranteed money is still worth more than Darrius Heyward-Bey's deal, averaging out to $4.917 million a year.