After the NFL and the players agreed to a new CBA early Sunday morning, the contract agreements started to flow as the Tennessee Titans fired the first salvo, forgoing a relationship with Tom Brady, to re-sign Ryan Tannehill to a four-year deal, worth $118 million with $62 million fully guaranteed per ESPN’s Jeff Darlington.
Ryan Tannehill has agreed to terms on a new four-year contract with the Titans, per source. Here’s the numbers:
$118m total
$29.5m average per year
$62m full guarantee
$91m total guaranteeBIG deal for Tannehill!
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) March 15, 2020
It’s a huge deal for a quarterback who was jettisoned out of Miami for a late-round pick from the Titans.
The Titans clearly feel like Tannehill was an integral part of their run to the postseason and paid him like he was a tier-1 signal-caller.
Had the Philadelphia Eagles waited to address Carson Wentz’s contract status this offseason, they’d probably be facing a similar contract conundrum to the one the Cowboys have with Dak Prescott.
Howie Roseman and company struck first and they struck quickly during the 2019 offseason, signing Wentz to a cap-friendly deal that will allow the Eagles to remain competitive for years to come.
Wentz’s deal is worth $128 million, with at least $107 million guaranteed, and he even though he’s among the top-5 highest paid at his position in average, he could have gotten more.
In comparing the deals, the 31-year old Tannehill’s deal is for four years, at $118 million total, at $29.5 million per season, with $62 million fully guaranteed.
Meanwhile, Wentz is just 27 years old on a four-year deal that won’t start until next season. Its total value is $128 million total at $32 million per season and $66 million guaranteed.
Wentz is among the highest-paid when it comes to average value per season, but in 2020, he’ll be the 15th highest paid in the league per average.
Per Over The Cap, Wentz earned $8.5 million in 2019 and will be on the hook for $22.7 million in 2020 as part of a fifth-year option the Eagles exercised before last season.
The Eagles could have waited to extend Wentz, considering he’s suffered season-ending injuries during the 2017 and 2018 NFL seasons.
With Jared Goff, Dak Prescott and Patrick Mahomes all coming up on the horizon, both Wentz and Howie Roseman did the best thing for the organization, getting the deal out the way, while allowing cap flexibility, as his deal falls in line at about $26 million per season thanks to some resourceful contract structures.
The Eagles could have paid more and had the 26-year-old quarterback won MVP in 2019, he could be requesting $40 million per.
Allowing the Eagles and Wentz to set the quarterback market, without mortgaging the talent around him, Wentz’s deal forced the hand of the Rams who had to pay Goff more than Wentz, based on the merit of actually competing in and winning a few playoff games.
With Tannehill off the board, Prescott and Patrick Mahomes are among the players who are scheduled to get paid next. Mahomes will reset the market for years to come, but by taking care of Wentz a year early, the Eagles eliminated themselves from matching what could be a $35 million+ per year deal between Prescott and the Cowboys or closer to $38 million if Dallas chooses to franchise him this offseason and in 2021.
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