Empire Writes Back
Fansided

New York Jets Rework Brandon Marshall’s Contract

By Kenneth Teape

facebooktwitterreddit

The New York Jets made Brandon Marshall a richer man Saturday afternoon, giving him more money over the length of his current contract

The first offseason under the new regime of Mike Maccagnan and Todd Bowles has been an eventful one for the New York Jets. They have acquired a ton of talent, upgrading virtually every facet of the team. Geno Smith has some new weapons on the offensive side of the ball, while the defensive backfield has been retooled as well. One of the receivers they added, Brandon Marshall, not only has a new team for the 2015 season, but a shiny new contract as well.

The contract that Marshall had when the Jets acquired him from the Chicago Bears was set to pay him $24.3 million over the next three seasons, but that number has been increased by the Jets to $26 million. That increase includes $1.3 million more in guaranteed money, which is the most important thing to NFL players.

More from New York Jets

For the upcoming season, Marshall was scheduled to make $7.7 million, with $7.5 as a base salary and the remaining $200,000 coming as a workout bonus. The new contract will give him a base salary of $9 million, with no workout bonus. His 2016 base salary was also increased from $7.9 million to $9.5 million, while his 2017 base salary was slightly lowered.

This was supposedly what the Jets had promised Marshall when talking to the Bears about acquiring the receiver earlier in the offseason. There were plenty of suitors for Marshall, who was given permission by the Bears to find a new team. The Jets were one of those teams, and brought talks of a richer contract to the table, which could be what pushed them ahead of other teams that were in negotiations with the Bears. For the Jets, this is not something new when acquiring players, as they also gave extensions to Thomas Jones in 2007 and Kris Jenkins in 2008 when they were acquired via trades.

It is a little surprising that the Jets would hand more money, especially guaranteed money, to a player who is entering his 31-year old season, and had a down year with the Bears in 2014. He battled injuries and ineffective quarterback play, and it resulted in his lowest total receptions in a season in his career outside of his rookie season. It was also his lowest yardage output outside his rookie season.

But where he did excel was catching touchdowns, which is what the Jets hope he continues doing for them. While the quarterback play could be as erratic, if not more, the Jets are hoping Marshall can bring some veteran leadership, experience being a go-to receiver and help in the red zone. When the Jets are getting close to the end zone, they have to punch it in for six instead of settling for field goals, which is something that Marshall should be able to help with standing 6-feet-4 inches tall.

While from the outside an extension for a player coming off the worst season of his career is head-scratching, it is a move that was necessary for the Jets to make if they were to acquire Marshall. He will be an important player for the Jets this upcoming season, and for however long he is on the team for, as he greatly improves their receiving corps no matter who is under center.

Next: Who is the best first-round pick by the Jets?

More from Empire Writes Back

Home/New York Jets