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NFL CBA Explained: Rookie Contracts – 5th-Year Option
June 16, 2013 · No Comments
By Anthony Holzman-Escareno
Fb-ButtonEvery player selected in the first round of the NFL Draft will automatically have a fifth-year team option added into his contract. This option cannot be separately attached to the player contract.
The option allows a team to retain a player’s rights for five years rather than four, which is the bonus of selecting a player in the first round. In order to extend the contract, the team must inform the player during the period between the last regular season game of the player’s third contract year and May 3 of the next League Year (Article 7, Sec. 7, (a), 31).
The fifth-year option is non-negotiable, and the non-compensation terms from a player’s rookie contract will also be included in the fifth-year option.
Many terms allowed in other contracts are prohibited from the fifth-year option. These terms include option bonuses, option exercise fees, option nonexercise fees, option buyouts, or any other compensation that stems from the team exercising or declining the 5th-year option (Sec. 7 (d), 31).
When a team exercises the option, it becomes guaranteed for injury only. If the player is on the team’s opening-day Active/Inactive roster for the option year, his salary becomes fully guaranteed for skill, cap, and injury.
The payments are not considered Rookie Salary and do not count toward League or Club Rookie Pools or Allocations. The player’s salary is also not subject to the 25% Rule.
The salary of the option year is also the only payment a player is eligible to receive for football services outside of minimum offseason workout per diems and compensation for non-football related team activities.
The salary for the fifth-year option is also different for two types of players: those selected in the top ten picks and all other first-round selections.
The option for top-ten picks is set at an amount equal to the salary of the Transition Tender (set in Article 10, Section 4 of the CBA) for the player’s fourth contract year. This salary is calculated, basically, by finding the average of the top ten highest Prior Year Salaries for players that played the same position. Positions are defined by the spot a player spent the most plays at during the previous season (Sec. 7, (a), 31).
For players selected between the 11th and 32nd rounds in the draft, the same calculation is used to compute their salaries. The difference is that the average of the third through 25th highest Prior Year Salaries for the player’s position equals the player’s fifth-year salary.
If a team decides to use its fifth-year team option, the player can face substantial fines for refusing to report to camp on time and/or at all. Players can be fined up to $30,000 per day of training camp missed and a fine equal to one week’s regular season (1/17 of P5 Salary) check for any preseason games missed.
The fifth-year option provides team’s with more security when it invests a valuable first-round pick on a player.
Since we have two players (Brockers and Barron) that can be optioned this year, like Quinn was last year, I thought this could help explain the deal.
AgamemnonNFL
Find this article at:
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000342224/article/fifthyear-option-tracker
Fifth-year option trackerBy Gregg Rosenthal
Around The NFL Editor
Published: May 3, 2014 at 10:03 a.m.
Updated: May 3, 2014 at 02:38 p.m.The new rookie wage scale adopted in 2011 requires that all rookies sign four-year contracts. For players taken in the first round, the team has the option to extend the contract for an extra season.
Decision time has come and gone for the NFL Draft class of 2011. NFL teams had until midnight Friday to decide whether to pick up the extra year in the contract.
Players in the top 10 got a deal equal to the league’s transition tag number. Players drafted No. 11-32 got a big raise — but not quite that big.
The decision to extend the deal wasn’t too difficult for solid starters. The salary is guaranteed for injury only, so the team could still cut a player before the 2015 season if they chose. We have used this page to keep track of which players had or didn’t have their fifth-year options picked up.
No. 1 pick Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers: Predictably, the Panthers exercised the option on the quarterback a few weeks before the deadline. NFL Media’s Albert Breer reported, per a source apprised of the move, that Newton’s contract is now safely secured through 2015.
No. 2 pick Von Miller, Denver Broncos: The Broncos picked up the option for the outside linebacker, Breer reported, per a team source. Miller’s option is worth $9.754 million.
No. 3 pick Marcell Dareus, Buffalo Bills: The Bills picked up the option on Dareus, general manager Doug Whaley announced. The no-brainer move now keeps Dareus on a rock-solid D line for another year.
No. 4 pick A.J. Green, Cincinnati Bengals: The Bengals picked up the 2015 option on the wide receiver.
No. 5 pick Patrick Peterson, Arizona Cardinals: The Cardinals officially exercised the fifth-year option on the cornerback.
No. 6 pick Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons: The Falcons announced they exercised the fifth-year option on the dynamic wide receiver a few days ahead of the deadline.
No. 7 pick Aldon Smith, San Francisco 49ers: The 49ers announced on Friday that they have exercised the option on Smith’s contract despite his recent legal troubles.
No. 8 Jake Locker, Tennessee Titans: The Titans did not exercise the fifth-year option on the oft-injured signal-caller, according to NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport. The Tennessean’s Jim Wyatt first reported the news.
No. 9 pick Tyron Smith, Dallas Cowboys: Rapoport reported that the Cowboys picked up Smith’s option, which they had planned to do since he signed in 2011. It will pay Smith more than $10 million.
No. 10 pick Blaine Gabbert, Jacksonville Jaguars: The 49ers did not pick up the option for Gabbert. San Francisco dealt a sixth-round draft pick to Jacksonville in March for the former Missouri QB.
No. 11 pick J.J. Watt, Houston Texans: The Texans picked up the option in Watt’s deal, according to Rapoport. The deal will pay Watt $6.969 million.
No. 12 pick Christian Ponder, Minnesota Vikings: The Vikings declined to pick up Ponder’s fifth-year option, according to Rapoport.
No. 13 pick Nick Fairley, Detroit Lions: The Lions confirmed publicly they didn’t pick up Fairley’s option. They said they want him more motivated.
No. 14 pick Robert Quinn, St. Louis Rams: The Rams announced they picked up the Pro Bowl pass rusher’s $6.969 million option, via media information manager Casey Pearce. The move keeps the dominant pass rushing duo of Quinn and Chris Long together through 2015.
No. 15 pick Mike Pouncey, Miami Dolphins: The Dolphins announced they exercised the option on the center. The fifth year is worth just more than $7.4 million.
No. 16 pick Ryan Kerrigan, Washington Redskins: Washington picked up the outside linebacker’s option just before the deadline.
No. 17 pick Nate Solder, New England Patriots: The Patriots locked up Tom Brady’s blindside protector for 2015, Breer reported, according to a source informed of the move. Solder will earn $7.438 million.
No. 18 pick Corey Liuget, San Diego Chargers: San Diego picked up Liuget’s $6.969 million option, according to Rapoport.
No. 19 pick Prince Amukamara, New York Giants: The Giants officially picked up the corner’s option, Breer reported. Amukamara started all 16 games last season for the first time in his career. He is key to the Giants’ revamped secondary.
No. 20 pick Adrian Clayborn, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The Bucs didn’t extend Clayborn’s contract, according to SportsTalkFlorida.com’s Jenna Laine. They were unlikely to exercise his option but won’t trade him, according to ProFootballTalk, per a league source.
No. 21 pick Phillip Taylor, Cleveland Browns: Taylor’s fifth-year option was picked up on deadline day.
No. 22 pick Anthony Castonzo, Indianapolis Colts: The Colts exercised Castonzo’s option, a source informed of the move told Rapoport.
No. 23 pick Danny Watkins, Philadelphia Eagles: The Eagles cut Watkins before last season. He’s currently not on a roster and was therefore ineligible for the option.
No. 24 pick Cameron Jordan, New Orleans Saints: The Saints exercised Jordan’s $6.969 million option for 2015, Rapoport reported, per a source informed of the official move.
No. 25 pick James Carpenter, Seattle Seahawks: The Seahawks announced they declined the fifth-year option on Carpenter’s rookie contract.
No. 26 pick Jonathan Baldwin, Kansas City Chiefs: No surprises here. The 49ers declined the option on the wide receiver, whom they acquired from the Kansas City Chiefs last August in exchange for fellow wideout A.J. Jenkins. Baldwin will fight for a roster spot after catching just three passes last season.
No. 27 pick Jimmy Smith, Baltimore Ravens: The Ravens picked up Smith’s $6.898 million option. His play steadily has improved in his career.
Build your own mock draft:
Make your best guesses here for all 32 picks of the first round of the NFL Draft and you could win a trip to attend the 2014 NFL Kickoff game. Play now …No. 28 pick Mark Ingram, New Orleans Saints: The Saints didn’t pick up the option on the 2009 Heisman Trophy-winning running back, per Rapoport. New Orleans traded a 2011 second-round pick and 2012 first-round pick to New England for the rights to draft Ingram.
No. 29 pick Gabe Carimi, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Carimi was not eligible for the option because the Bears released him last season from his original rookie deal.
No. 30 pick Muhammad Wilkerson, New York Jets: Rapoport reported that the Jets picked up Wilkerson’s option for $6.969 million. He’s proven to be one of the best picks of the entire 2011 draft.
No. 31 pick Cameron Heyward, Pittsburgh Steelers: The Steelers exercised the fifth-year option on the defensive lineman.
No. 32 pick Derek Sherrod, Green Bay Packers: The Packers didn’t pick up the offensive tackle’s option.
In the latest edition of the “Around The League Podcast,” the guys discuss Chris Johnson’s impact on the Jets, then break down the state of the AFC North.
last year it was about 10 million for someone like Aldon Smith, drafted in the top 10. Quinn’s was about 7 million. Agamemnon
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