Russ Ball, Ted Thompson Hit Another Home Run With Jordy Nelson Extension

The numbers are in for Jordy Nelson, and it looks like the Packers are big winners. Again. 

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jordy Nelson by Benny Sieu—USA TODAY Sports.

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jordy Nelson by Benny Sieu—USA TODAY Sports.

More evidence of the ability of Russ Ball and Ted Thompson to negotiate a contract can be found in the details of Jordy Nelson's new four-year extension.

Ball, the Green Bay Packers vice president of player finances, and Thompson, the club's general manager, completed a deal that will keep Nelson in Green Bay through the 2018 season. The extension is light on guarantees, heavy on workout and roster bonuses and extremely team-friendly during the first three years. 

Nelson will receive just $11.5 million in real guarantees, all coming in the form of his signing bonus. He has available roster bonuses totaling $2.5 million, spread out over a yearly basis at $500,000, or $31,250 per game. Another $2.25 million is available in workout bonuses, including $500,000 every year from 2015-18. His $250,000 workout bonus in 2014 has already been earned. 

Overall, Nelson's cap hit never goes above $8.8 million during the first three years. 

He will count $5.925 million against the Packers cap in 2014, $4.6 million in 2015 and $8.8 million in 2016. Overall, his three-year cap hit equals just $19.3 million. 

For context, consider Mike Wallace will count $17.25 million against the Miami Dolphins cap in 2014 alone. In 2015, Nelson is currently scheduled to rank 28th in cap hit among receivers. Meanwhile, Calvin Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald will both count over $20 million against their team's respective caps in 2015.

Nelson's base salary jump up to $8.25 million and his cap hit to $11.55 million in 2017, when he will be 32 years old. The next season, his cap hit increases slightly to $12.55 million. The Packers may entertain the idea of restructuring his deal by 2017, but a jump in the league's salary cap may actually keep Nelson a bargain that far down the road, especially if he can remain productive in his early 30s. 

Bottom line here: The Packers are once again getting a terrific three-year value for Nelson, who will almost certainly outperform the early seasons of the extension. By the time the deal jumps in value, the Packers may be looking at a leveraged restructure, or the real possibility that an expected increase in league-wide salary cap will keep Nelson a relative bargain. 

Ball and Thompson strike again. 

Zach Kruse contributes to Cheesehead TV. He is also the Lead Writer for the NFC North at Bleacher Report. You can reach him on Twitter @zachkruse2 or by email at [email protected].

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Comments (5)

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HankScorpio's picture

July 29, 2014 at 06:57 pm

Now that I've seen the structure and cap hits, I'm even more glad than I already was that they got this deal done. It's good short term numbers and feasible ones on the back end. Any contract with the real possibility of running through its completion is a good one and this deal qualifies.

And as long as we're handing out kudos, let's give some to Nelson himself. He could have waited on a more player-friendly structure. Instead, he's taking more money than most of us can fathom but leaving the Packers room to retain or add other quality players.

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Beep's picture

July 29, 2014 at 08:07 pm

I'd love to see TT get Cobb to sign something similar too!

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jeremyjjbrown's picture

July 29, 2014 at 09:45 pm

According to the female bovine Nelson's contract meant we had no chance at resigning Cobb. What a surprise.

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jmac34's picture

July 29, 2014 at 11:23 pm

Cobb is probably not going to sign before the season starts. The earliest I expect him to sign is the bye and more than likely it won't happen until after the season

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HankScorpio's picture

July 30, 2014 at 09:46 am

Agreed. It is not in Cobb's best interests to sign now. If I was his agent, I'd be telling him to concentrate on producing on the field and contract things will work themselves out later.

To date, a contract based on what he's done could very easily turn into one that is way below market value in the 2nd or 3rd year. Cobb should focus on staying healthy and producing on the field.

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