Throughout the entire process of Derrick Henry and the Tennessee Titans’ contract negotiations, the team’s fans showed their support for the star running back, who we can all agree earned some kind of long-term deal.
And Henry didn’t forget about that. In fact, he took to social media on Wednesday night to thank fans for showing him love through the process that ended with him netting a four-year, $50 million contract from the Titans.
“Appreciate everybody for all the love today & the fans through the whole process,” Henry wrote on Instagram.
.@Titans RB @KingHenry_2’s post tonight on Instagram… pic.twitter.com/r7L6sN1mOw
— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) July 16, 2020
Earlier this offseason, Henry made it clear his desire was always to stay in Tennessee, as he expressed his love for the team and its fans.
“I want to stay with the Tennessee Titans,” Henry said, via Jim Wyatt of Titans Online. “They are the ones that took a chance on me – 31 teams passed on me on the draft and they selected me. I have a lot of love for Tennessee. I have a lot of love for everyone in that organization.
For the vast majority of Titans fans, the question was never if Henry deserved a deal, but rather how much should he get?
It seems the Titans were able to find the middle ground with Henry that general manager Jon Robinson had mentioned when talking about negotiations. The contract ends up being a great deal for both sides.
Henry, who was likely to get the franchise tag once again in 2021, earning him roughly $22.6 million over the next two years, instead gets a guaranteed $25.5 million over the course of the deal.
For the Titans, Henry’s cap hit lowers to $6 million from the $10.278 million it would have been under the tag, giving Tennessee $4 million extra bucks to work with.
There’s also reasonable outs with dead cap hits of $6 million in 2022 and $3 million in 2023 in a contract that takes Henry through his age 29 season and avoids the potential pitfalls of a 30-year-old running back.
What’s most important in all this is that the Titans rightly rewarded one of their best players who has made significant contributions to the franchise, both on and off the field.
[lawrence-related id=40230,40223,40212]