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The Cincinnati Bengals are coming off a 12-win season and fifth-straight playoff berth thanks in large part to how they've drafted and re-signed their best selections.
More often than not, Cincinnati's best players aren't given an opportunity to hit the market as they're given contract extensions before their contract year begins. Not long after the 2016 NFL Draft concluded, the Bengals once again did what they're good at and re-signed Shawn Williams, keeping him from hitting free agency and testing the open market in 2017.
Williams signed a four-year extension worth up to $21.5 million. Here's a look at his entire contract now with the extension in place, courtesy of Spotrac.
|
YEAR |
AGE |
BASE SALARY |
SIGNING BONUS |
ROSTER BONUS |
WORKOUT BONUS |
CAP HIT |
DEAD CAP |
|
2016 |
25 |
$1,100,000 |
$538,986 |
$2,250,000 |
$300,000 |
$4,188,986 |
$4,000,000 |
|
2017 |
26 |
$2,900,000 |
$400,000 |
$250,000 |
$300,000 |
$3,850,000 |
$1,600,000 |
|
2018 |
27 |
$3,000,000 |
$400,000 |
$250,000 |
$300,000 |
$3,950,000 |
$1,200,000 |
|
2019 |
28 |
$3,100,000 |
$400,000 |
$250,000 |
$300,000 |
$4,050,000 |
$800,000 |
|
2020 |
29 |
$4,020,000 |
$400,000 |
$250,000 |
$300,000 |
$4,970,000 |
$400,000 |
The full value of the deal is $19.5 million, with an additional $2 million in incentives and just $4 million of the deal guaranteed. In 2016, Williams will earn a base salary of $1,100,000, a signing bonus of $2,000,000, a roster bonus of $2,250,000 and a workout bonus of $300,000. That includes a cap hit of $4,188,986 and dead money value of $4,000,000.
However, Williams' dead money hit drops to $1.6 million in 2017 and goes under $1 million starting in Year 4 of the deal. Given the fact that Williams is set to become a full-time starter for the first time in his four-year career in 2016, that's a very team-friendly deal. The only minor knock on the deal is that it comes without a full sample of Williams being a starter for a 16-game season, but he's done enough over his three years to make the Bengals feel very confident he'll be a good one.
And if the deal doesn't work out and Williams can't live up to his contract, it won't cost the Bengals much at all to part ways with them. Even though they rarely do that, simply having that option available makes this a great deal for them.
Grade: A-