Agent's Take: What the asking price should be for 19 top free agents

[The Franchise]

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-...op-free-agents

OLB Justin Houston

Contract Package: $85 Million/5 Years
Guaranteed Money: $52 Million
First Three Years: $55 Million
The Chiefs dropped the ball by letting Houston play out his rookie contract instead of signing him to a long-term contract extension in the neighborhood of Tamba Hali's deal. Hali received a five-year, $57.5 million contract (worth a maximum of $60 million through salary escalators) containing $35 million in guarantees from the team in 2011 as a franchise player.

Those days are long gone.

Joel Segal, Houston's agent, insisting that his client has transcended his position and deserves to be paid as a top non-quarterback is justifiable after the 2011 third-round pick just missed out on breaking Michael Strahan's single season record of 22.5 sacks in 2014 by posting a league best 22 sacks.

It would be in Kansas City's best interest to sign Houston before Ndamukong Suh gets his blockbuster deal. Segal will likely raise his contract demands for Houston if Suh becomes the NFL's highest paid non-quarterback by a considerable margin. Additionally, Houston's 2015 salary cap number could be little more than one-third of his $13.195 million franchise tag on a long-term deal with a similar structure as wide receiver Dwayne Bowe's. Anything under $15 million per year with less than $45 million in guarantees probably will be unacceptable to Houston.

WR Randall Cobb

Contract Package: $60 Million/5 Years
Guaranteed Money: $30 Million
First Three Years: $37.5 Million
Cobb made a smart move last offseason by declaring that he hadn't done enough to warrant a new contract. He was limited to six regular season games in 2013 because of a fractured right leg. The 2011 second-round pick had a career year in 2014 with 91 receptions, 1,287 receiving yards and 12 touchdown catches.

According to Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Cobb recently turned down a five-year deal from the Green Bay Packers averaging between $8 million and $9 million per year.

This offer is in line with the $8.6 million per-year average of the five unrestricted free-agent years fellow slot wide receiver Victor Cruz gave up in the six-year, $45.879 million deal he signed with the New York Giants in 2013 as a restricted free agent.

Green Bay's desire to maintain internal salary consistency among their wide receivers could lead to Cobb's departure. The team would like to keep Cobb's deal under the four-year, $39.05 million extension ($9,762,500 average per year) Jordy Nelson signed during the initial days of training camp last season. Cobb is a co-No. 1 receiver at best with the Packers, if not the No. 2 receiver, and outside wide receivers typically make more than slot receivers.

The Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders could be in hot pursuit of Cobb. For the Chiefs and the Raiders, familiarity would bring comfort. Chiefs general manager John Dorsey and Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie were Green Bay's Director of College Scouting and Director of Football Operations when Cobb was drafted.

Cobb's asking price is essentially an average of the two different ways to value the contract Percy Harvin received when he was acquired by the Seattle Seahawks in a 2013 trade with the Minnesota Vikings, which sets the slot receiver market. Instead of focusing on the new money as in other negotiations, a majority of teams treat new deals which are a part of a trade differently.

The acquiring team is most concerned with the total compensation they will be paying their new player over the length of the contract, which was $67 million over six years in Seattle's case. The new money or five-year extension average of Harvin's deal is $12,843,500 per year.

WR Jeremy Maclin

Contract Package: $57.5 Million/5 Years
Guaranteed Money: $27.5 Million
First Three Years: $36 Million
Maclin signed a one-year deal worth $6 million in 2014 after a preseason ACL tear cost him the 2013 season. His bet on himself paid off. Maclin had a career year of 85 receptions, 1,318 receiving yards and 10 touchdown catches in 2014. Maclin has stated that he would like to remain with the Eagles. DeSean Jackson signed a five-year, $48.5 million contract (worth a maximum of $52.5 million through salary escalators) with the team in 2012 when the NFL salary cap was $120.6 million. The base value of an equivalent deal under the current $143.28 million salary cap is approximately $11.5 million per year.

A team to keep an eye on if the Eagles drag their feet with Maclin is the Kansas City Chiefs, who are led by former Eagles coach Andy Reid. The Chiefs desperately need to upgrade at wide receiver. None of Kansas City's 18 touchdown passes were caught by a wide receiver.

Maclin also has a connection with Oakland Raiders offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave. Musgrave was the Eagles' quarterback coach in 2014. Quarterback Derek Carr desperately needs more playmakers in the passing game.

C Rodney Hudson

Contract Package: $37.5 Million/5 Years
Guaranteed Money: $20 Million
First Three Years: $24 Million
Hudson's goal is to become the NFL's highest-paid center according to NFL.com's Gregg Rosenthal and Chris Wesseling. That is a bit ambitious. The current salary benchmarks at the position are Maurkice Pouncey's $8,827,325 million average per year in the deal he signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers last offseason and the $28 million in guarantees Ryan Kalil received from the Carolina Panthers when he received a six-year, $49.116 million deal in 2011 as their franchise player.

There's a clear line of separation between first and second-tier center deals. The bottom of the first tier is Nick Mangold's eight-year contract extension with the New York Jets averaging $7.725 million per year. The top of the second tier is the $6.5 million per-year neighborhood. Hudson could be popular with the Kansas City Chiefs' AFC West rivals. The Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers could be looking for a center in free agency.

[Easy 6]

Pay the man, I believe it was Boss that said give him a carbon copy of Watts contract and the way it was broken down made it look not so bad for the team.

The guy is that good and that important to this defense, if Dorsey dicks around with Houston... I'll start making OTWP look like Captain Positivity.

[The Franchise]

Originally Posted by Easy 6

Pay the man, I believe it was Boss that said give him a carbon copy of Watts contract and the way it was broken down made it look not so bad for the team.

The guy is that good and that important to this defense, if Dorsey dicks around with Houston... I'll start making OTWP look like Captain Positivity.

Hamas posted it in the Bowe thread but Watt's contract is different because they added years to his rookie deal. That's why his first year cap hit is like $4.5 million. His cap hit next year is something like $22 million.

[Mr. Laz]

Don't get your hopes up.

it just makes it more painful when it doesn't happen

[jd1020]

Originally Posted by Dicky McElephant

His cap hit next year is something like $22 million.

Thats his hit this year.

[The Franchise]

Originally Posted by jd1020

Thats his hit this year.

Thanks for the correction.

[RunKC]

Originally Posted by Dicky McElephant

Hamas posted it in the Bowe thread but Watt's contract is different because they added years to his rookie deal. That's why his first year cap hit is like $4.5 million. His cap hit next year is something like $22 million.

That's true but do you really think Houston or his agent would deny a deal where he makes close to $20 million and at least $15 million of his gauranteed money in the first year of said contract?

I'm all for that plan. Just get it over with

[Mr. Laz]

Should a team pay any non-quarterback player over 20 million per?

[The Franchise]

Originally Posted by Mr. Laz

Should a team pay any non-quarterback player over 20 million per?

It's going to start happening more and more as the cap continues to increase.

[saphojunkie]

Originally Posted by Mr. Laz

Should a team pay any non-quarterback player over 20 million per?

A team shouldn't pay any player 20 per period, QB or not.

[BossChief]

Originally Posted by Dicky McElephant

Hamas posted it in the Bowe thread but Watt's contract is different because they added years to his rookie deal. That's why his first year cap hit is like $4.5 million. His cap hit next year is something like $22 million.

In year 2 of his extension his cap hit is 22m. If we gave him that deal, that 22 would go to 2016 where we will only have cap commitments of 72m after Bowe is cut. Even with a 22m hit next year, we would still be around 94m with the cap expected to be north of 150m.

His first year cap hit was only 4.5m...saving us money this year, too.

After the 22m year, his cap hits are:

12.5m
12.5m
13m
13m
15m
17m

That's a PERFECT contract for Houston.

[Nightfyre]

Boss, a contract with one heavy year does not make a contract team friendly. The reason Watt's contract is team friendly is that the last couple of years are decently backloaded and totally un-guaranteed. The more you can back load into later years, the more team friendly the deal is. The goal for the Chiefs should be to squeeze as absolutely much salary into that last year as possible so that they have leverage for extension talks in the year before it expires.

[BossChief]

I don't care what it's called...that would be a GREAT signing for that structure.