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Here's the deal with McNabb: He plans to stick around
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PHILADELPHIA - Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb decided to bet on himself.
He is so sure that he will remain an elite quarterback for years that he essentially went "all in" in his Texas Hold 'Em-style negotiations with the team.
Instead of trying to secure a contract extension, the 32-year-old, his agent and the Eagles only agreed to restructure the final two years of his current deal. If his gamble pays off, he will be in position to land a huge contract after the deal expires following the 2010 season.
If the Eagles don't want to keep him around, he figures to have plenty of other suitors if he is still playing at an elite level.
"I plan to be here for years," McNabb said Friday. "But right now, my focus is on these next two years. With the type of team that we have, I think it's important that we focus in on what we have to do in order to win a Super Bowl. Anything past that will take care of itself."
Although both the Eagles and agent Fletcher Smith declined to release the terms, The Associated Press reported that McNabb's contract is worth $24.5 million in base salary over the next two seasons. He could earn an additional $1 million by reaching certain incentives. The restructuring added a minimum of $5.3 million to McNabb's paycheck. He was scheduled to make $9.2 million this season and $10 million in 2010.
A number of factors played into the decision to delay seeking an extension. Most important is the uncertainty surrounding the NFL's collective bargaining agreement. As of now, the CBA will expire after the 2010 season. If no agreement is reached before 2010, that season would be played without a salary cap.
And if McNabb were to lead the Eagles to their first Super Bowl championship before then, he stands to become much richer. He reiterated Friday that his desire is to be an Eagle for his entire NFL career. But he also made it clear that he has no plans to retire after 2010.
"I absolutely plan on playing more than two more years," said McNabb, who is about to begin his 11th season. "And I've always said that I would like to retire here, but that's not going to be in two years."
The Eagles also did not aggressively seeking an extension because there is no guarantee that McNabb will still be at the top of his game after 2010.
He wound up leading the Eagles to the NFC championship game for the fifth time last season, but only after suffering through the worst slump of his career. He was so bad in a two-game stretch against Cincinnati and Baltimore that coach Andy Reid benched him for the first time in his career.
McNabb returned to the lineup the following game against Arizona. The Eagles went 4-1 down the stretch of the regular season to sneak into the playoffs. They then knocked off Minnesota and the New York Giants before losing to the Cardinals in the conference title game.
"We thought (the restructuring) was something that both sides wanted to get done," Reid said Friday. "Donovan warranted this. There are very few players or situations where a player is far enough long in his career, and in his contract, where he warrants something like this.
"I like to thank Donovan for accepting this and for all the great things that he's done throughout the years that we've been together and all the great things he's going to do as we continue on together here. As I've said many times, I think we have the best quarterback in the National Football League."
The deal also means one less distraction for the Eagles, who are expected to be among the NFC's top teams this season. Aside from injuries, the quickest way to destroy a team is to allow off-field issues to infiltrate the locker room and affect the team's focus.
McNabb's contract leaves cornerback Sheldon Brown as the only openly dissatisfied player. He skipped the team's voluntary organized team activities, or OTAs, in his quest to get a new deal or force a trade. But he has vowed to report to training camp on time and to not be a disruptive force on the team.
"One of the reasons we did this restructuring instead of an extension is that an extension takes time," Smith said. "Donovan's objective was to get something done before the season so he could just focus on football. ... He's driven to win a Super Bowl here."
Extra points: While discussing McNabb's deal, Eagles president Joe Banner was asked if it would have an impact on their dealings with Brown. The Eagles have refused to redo his contract or seek to trade him. Brown has four years remaining on his contract.
"I don't see any similarities in the two situations," Banner said. "We've said that there are a very limited number of what we call extraordinary situations in terms of addressing a contract. Those are very rare. They are very much the exceptions. Obviously in (McNabb's) case, we thought it met the criteria."
Also Friday, the Eagles released rookie free-agent defensive tackle Trevor Jenkins. Their roster stands at 80 players. When rookies Jeremy Maclin and LeSean McCoy sign their deals, two more players will have to be cut.
E-mail David Weinberg:
Posted in Sports, Breaking_news, Eagles on Saturday, June 13, 2009 12:00 am Updated: 1:25 am.
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