So Wait, McNabb Actually Could Be Gone Next Year?

SECOND UPDATE:  If you care about this stuff, I strongly urge you to read shlynch's take below on some of the guaranteed money provisions.  Also, at the end of it, he says the original post still could be right (sort of, in some ways), so that's nice, too. 

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UPDATE/CORRECTION:  See the comments for some additional info from shlynch that changes all of this.  Basically, all of next year's stuff is guaranteed, but because of the weirdness of the uncapped year, a huge chunk of it counts against this year's cap.  Which, of course, frees up all that money for next year (assuming there's a cap).

As I said below, skip PFT for a day and look what you miss.

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A little light reading as we wait to get mown down by the click-robots of the ticket-resale sites....

Both the Inky and the DN have (most of) the details on McNabb's new deal.  It is certainly true that they can be read in such a way as to support last week's sunshine and light announcement.  Quoting LB:

Colton said the Eagles fully guaranteed the $9.2 million McNabb was scheduled to make this season. In addition to Friday's $2.8 million, McNabb can earn $500,00 by being on the 45-man active roster - that is, uninjured - for all 16 games. Each game he isn't active, he loses one-sixteenth of that total, or $31,250.

In 2010, McNabb was scheduled to make $10 million. Now, his base is just $5 million, with $3.5 million guaranteed, vs. nothing previously. There also is a $6.2 million roster bonus, payable May 5, and the same $500,000 clause for being active in all 16 games.

So, McNabb can make $12.5 million this year and $11.7 million in 2010, $24.2 million total, before the incentives.

It's a nice deal, McNabb gets a good bump out of it, and it does appear to guarantee at least two more years as the Eagles' QB.

But let's consider an alternative scenario for just one quick second.  What if something bad happens this year?  What if McNabb has another serious injury, Kolb comes in and plays great, and the Eagles decide it actually is time to make the switch?

In that case, the new deal looks pretty good -- from both sides.  The Eagles are only on the hook for $3.5 million guaranteed.  That's not money they'd like to set on fire, but if they had to, it's not terrible.  The benefit of the deal from McNabb's perspective is that May 5 roster bonus.  In year's past, that would have been just after the draft.  That's probably true next year as well, but not necessarily. 

So McNabb now has the assurance that the Eagles really do want him to be the QB of the next two seasons -- BUT if something goes wrong, they can't just take the entire 2010 offseason jerking him around, using him as leverage in a Kolb contract negotiation, etc.  It's keep-trade-or-cut by 5/5, which should give #5 plenty of time to hook up somewhere else if need be.

Those Eagles.  Always thinkin'.