Justice Prevails

The most unlikely contract extension I can recall is apparently in the books, as Winston Justice signed what is reported to be a 4 year extension worth $18.15 million, and a $6 million signing bonus. In the offseason, I thought this guy was going to see his NFL career end in August. And here he is starting and getting an extension. Good for him.

My thoughts on the deal:

• Justice would have gotten a tender of $1.176 million (3rd round comp), $1.759 million (2nd round comp) or $2.521 million (1st rond comp) depending on which tender level the Eagles went with. So you can think of the contract as effectively between $15.6 and $17.0 million of new money for three extra years. Not exactly Stacy Andrews money, but probably ok for a starter at RT.
• Because of the timing of the deal, Justice's 2009 base salary could not have increased from $530K. I don't think that amount counts in the $18.15 million anyway.
• At a minimum, the Eagles' cap room for 2009 shrinks by the prorated $1.2 million of the signing bonus.
• The interesting part of the deal (from my perspective) will be the structure of the remaining $12.15 million. If it is structured with a roster bonus in 2010, because of the cap rules governing the Last Capped Year and the Uncapped Year, that bonus will count like a signing bonus in 2009. And if any base salaries are guaranteed in 2010, that also counts in 2009. So what we are really waiting for is the details of future years. It is possible, though not especially likely, that they can use up most (if not all) of their remaining cap room ($5.83 million as of 11/9) with this deal. We'll see how it shakes out once the details are released.