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Outside the physical walls of the Patriots’ front office, a fairly typical offseason has occurred, complete with Outside the physical walls of the Patriots’ front office, a fairly typical New England offseason has occurred — complete with Super Bowl criticism, personnel losses, “unhappy” superstars, and dynasty-ending prognostications. Yet, as the calendar trudges onward through the football-less malaise of late June and early July, Bill Belichick and Nick Caserio — as they always do — have ignored the noise, and continued their roster-building grind.
In maintaining their philosophy of constructing a large core of “middle class” contributors, the team inked fullback James Develin and long snapper Joe Cardona to extensions last week. This week, those contracts were offically filed with the NFLPA.
On Wednesday, ESPN’s Mike Reiss reported the annual salary cap charges and a few details for both deals. It wasn’t until Wednesday evening that details on the structure of each contract were provided by Boston Sports Journal’s Miguel Benzan (@patscap).
James Develin - FB
Two-year extension worth up to $3.8 million in new money — $600,000 guaranteed, all coming in the form of a signing bonus.
2018
Salary: $800,000
Signing bonus proration from previous contract: $150,000
New signing bonus proration: $200,000
Roster bonus: $100,000 (Paid in March, 2018)
Playing-time incentives: $200,000
Per-game roster bonuses: $200,000 ($12,500 per game)
Workout bonus: $25,000
2018 Cap Figure: $1,675,000
2019
Salary: $1,000,000
Per-game roster bonuses: $400,000 ($25,000 per game)
Playing-time incentives: $100,000
2019 Cap Figure: $1,700,000
2020
Salary: $1,200,000
Per-game roster bonuses: $400,000 ($25,000 per game)
Playing-time incentives: $100,000
2020 Cap Figure: $1,900,000
Arguably the best pure fullback in the NFL, the Brown University alum receives some upfront cash, and about as much long-term stability as one can hope for at one of the least glamorous and violent positions in the game. The fan favorite was utilized in 30.2% of offensive snaps in 2017 as an important game planning chess piece — often splitting out wide to create favorable match ups against base personnel defenses. He also participated in 37.25% of special teams snaps last season.
Joe Cardona - LS
Four-year extension worth $4.31 million in new money. $1 million in guarantees consisting of a $650,000 signing bonus, and $350,000 of his 2018 salary.
2018
Salary: $705,000 ($350,000 guaranteed)
Signing bonus proration from previous contract: $25,000
New signing bonus proration: $130,000
2018 Cap Figure: $860,000
2019
Salary: $805,000
Signing bonus proration: $130,000
Per-game bonuses: $20,000 ($1,250 per game)
2019 Cap Figure: $955,000
2020
Salary: $820,000
Signing bonus proration: $130,000
Per-game bonuses: $40,000 ($2,500 per game)
2020 Cap Figure: $990,000
2021
Salary: $835,000
Signing bonus proration: $130,000
Per-game bonuses: $60,000 ($3,750 per game)
2021 Cap Figure: $1,025,000
2022
Salary: $1,000,000
Signing bonus proration: $130,000
Per-game bonuses: $80,000 ($5,000 per game)
2022 Cap Figure: $1,210,000
Continuity is always a positive in regards to such a specialized position that is so critical, yet so often forgotten. According to Benzan, the deal makes the fourth-year special-teamer the 12th highest paid long snapper in the NFL. He also added this wonderful, ultra-niche nugget of information:
Please note — the long-snapper deals have a very tight range. If Cardona’s APY was $100,000 higher, he would now be the highest-paid long-snapper. If Cardona’s APY was $100,000 less, he’d be the 16th highest paid long-snapper.
According to the NFLPA, and Benzan, the Patriots current cap space stands at $11,394,495.