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Perception and reality can often be worlds apart.
The perception surrounding George Iloka entering free agency was that he was going to be one of the most sought-after defenders this offseason and would land a contract paying him $7+ million annually. He's easily one of the league's better safeties in a league that's more geared toward the pass than ever, which seemingly would make Iloka's market very strong.
But the reality is, an injury-plagued 2015 season appears to have severely damaged Iloka's market to the point he ended up re-signing with the Bengals on a deal that's undoubtedly in favor of the team. It's a five-year deal worth $30 million, or an average of $6 million annually.
Here's a look at all five years of the contract, via Spotrac.
|
YEAR |
AGE |
BASE SALARY |
SIGNING BONUS |
ROSTER BONUS |
WORKOUT BONUS |
CAP HIT |
DEAD CAP |
|
2016 |
25 |
$1,800,000 |
$600,000 |
$2,500,000 |
$300,000 |
$5,200,000 |
|
|
2017 |
26 |
$4,000,000 |
$600,000 |
$500,000 |
$300,000 |
$5,400,000 |
|
|
2018 |
27 |
$4,800,000 |
$600,000 |
$2,375,000 |
$300,000 |
$8,075,000 |
|
|
2019 |
28 |
$5,200,000 |
$600,000 |
$500,000 |
$300,000 |
$6,600,000 |
|
|
2020 |
29 |
$5,200,000 |
$600,000 |
$500,000 |
$300,000 |
$6,600,000 |
It's not even a front-loaded deal that pays Iloka a lot up front while having just $5 million guaranteed. For the 2016 season, Iloka will earn a base salary of $1,800,000, a signing bonus of $3,000,000, a roster bonus of $2,500,000 and a workout bonus of $300,000. Iloka has a cap hit of $5,200,000 while his dead money value is $5,000,000.
Oh, and the Bengals can part ways with Iloka with not much repercussion after this season. There's virtually no chance the Bengals would cut him before 2018 anyhow, and that's when his dead cap hit is $1.8 million and goes down $600,000 each year until his contract ends.
Compare this deal to what the Eagles just gave former Rams free agent safety Rodney McLeod: a five-year deal worth $37 million annually and includes $17 million in guaranteed money. McLeod ranked one spot behind Iloka in Pro Football Focus' safety rankings for 2015. Iloka was also 37 spots ahead of McLeod in NFL.com's free agency rankings, and all of this shows just how good of a deal this is for the Bengals.
As of now, Iloka the NFL's 13th highest-paid safety in terms of annual value. He ranks 30th among safeties in terms of guaranteed money.
There's really no question the Bengals are big winners with this deal, but the good news for Iloka is he'll be paid nicely for the next five years before hitting free agency in 2020 when he's just 30-years-old. That means he should be in for at least one more big contract in his pro career.