Golden Tate's Contract Comes Into Focus

Published on July 7, 2010 by Seahawk Fanatic

As first reported by Adam Caplan of FOXSports.com, the Jets signed second-round offensive lineman Ducasse to a four-year, $3.25 million dollar contract on Wednesday.

Ducasse is the player chosen in the first two rounds of the 2010 NFL Draft to sign a contract, and his signing has importance to the Seattle Seahawks, as Ducasse was selected one spot ahead of wide receiver Golden Tate.

Based on what’s known about second-round contracts, and Ducasse’s deal, here’s a look at what Tate’s contract might look like, and what would be left over for the Seahawks to sign first-round picks Russell Okung and Earl Thomas.

Vladimir Ducasse

In addition to minimum base salaries, totaling $1.79 million dollars, Ducasse reportedly eceived a $1.025M signing bonus, which will be prorated over the length of the contract. With a reported total contract value of $3.25 million dollars, this means that there’s an additional $435,000 of guaranteed money within Ducasse’s deal. The additional $435K is likely in the form of a one-time roster bonus, backed by a portion of his 2013 base salary, and easily earned with minimum playing time and a team qualifier.

What It Means For Golden Tate

The guaranteed portion of Ducasse’s deal represents a 7.12% increase over what Miami Dolphins cornerback Sean Smith signed for last July.

Now, there are multiple ways to structure a second-round contract, but if a similar-sized increase and structure is applied to Tate, his four-year deal would be worth $3.27M, including a signing bonus of around $1.036M and a $444k one-timer. That would create a first-year cap number of $579,000.

Factoring in what the other Seahawks rookies have received, that would leave $4.203 million dollars on the rookie pool for the ‘Hawks to sign Okung and Thomas. The two players chosen in the same spots in ’09–Andre Smith and Malcolm Jenkins–had a combined first-year cap hit of $3.945M.

There really is no rush to get Okung, Thomas, or Tate signed,

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Tags: Adam Caplan, Base Salaries, Base Salary, Contract Value, Cornerback, Dollar Contract, Earl Thomas, Hawks, Miami Dolphins, nfl draft, offensive lineman, One Timer, Playing Time, Rookies, Roster Bonus, SEATTLE SEAHAWKS, Tate, Time Roster, Vladimir Ducasse, Wide Receiver

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