ANQUAN BOLDIN’S CONRACT DETAILS:  Media reports indicate that WR Anquan Boldin’s new 4-year contract has a total value of $28M, with $25M of that being “new” money.  NFLPA records indicate that Boldin’s base salaries total $24M (2010: $2M; 2011-2013: $6M each year).  Based on those numbers, it would appear that Boldin will receive $8M in bonus money.  Given the relatively modest amount of bonus money, it’s likely that all of that bonus money was paid as a Signing Bonus in 2010.

SETTING DERRICK MASON’S VALUE:  To date, WR Derrick Mason and the Ravens have been unable to reach an agreement to bring Mason back to Baltimore.  Mason apparently wants a 2-year deal, and while the Ravens are apparently not adverse to meeting that request, the parties have been unable to work out the financial parameters of the deal. 

The difficulty the parties are likely facing is - what sort of value to place on a 36-year old, 1,000 yard WR? 

If (and when) WR Terrell Owens ends up signing somewhere, the Ravens will have a better comparable – since he and Mason are the same age - but until then the parties are going to have to look at other comparables.

One recent deal, the re-signing of WR Chris Chambers by the Kansas City Chiefs, could provide some assistance.  Initial reports indicated that Chambers received a 3-year, $15M deal, with $5.9M guaranteed, but subsequent reports indicated that $3M of that total is incentives.  Chambers is 4 years younger than Mason and was released by San Diego last year, but after arriving in Kansas City, Chambers revived his career and earned himself a pretty decent payday. 

If Chambers, who only has one career 1,000 yard season to his credit, is worth that much, how much is Mason, who has had 1,000 yard seasons in 8 of the last 9 years, worth?  Or does Mason’s advanced age (for an NFL player) negate the differences in their careers? 

The guess here is that Mason gets something in the neighborhood of Chambers’ deal – at least as far as the yearly average goes – say, something in the 2-year, $9-10M in total value range.  Mason’s base salary has been $3M each year since 2006, so it’s hard to argue that he would be paid less yearly, when he’s still performing as well as he did when he arrived in Baltimore in 2005. 

IMPACT OF JUSTIN BANNAN’S SIGNING WITH DENVER:  When DT Justin Bannan signed with the Denver Broncos last Friday, it was hoped that his new deal would trigger the Final 8 provision that allows a Final 8 team, such as the Ravens, to sign an additional unrestricted free agent (UFA).

However, now that the terms of Bannan’s deal have been disclosed, it appears that Bannan’s loss will be of no benefit to the Ravens.  Bannan signed a 5-year, $22M deal, which included a signing bonus of $6.245M and a 2010 base salary of $755K.  It has been reported that his 2010 Cap number is $2.005M, so there is no additional roster or reporting bonus that would apply to 2010.  That Cap number is essentially the same as determined under the “salary” definition of the Final 8 Plan. Under the Final 8 Plan rules, the Ravens are already allowed to sign an unlimited number of UFAs whose first year salary is less than $3.8M, so Bannan’s signing already falls in that category, so it doesn’t provide the Ravens with any additional ammunition.  For a UFA loss to possibly have impact on the Ravens, the UFA must sign a contract that calls for a 1^st year salary of over $3.8M.