Chiefs, Cassel Sign Long-Term Deal
The Chiefs announced Tuesday afternoon that they’ve reached a long-term contract with QB Matt Cassel.
ESPN.com reported that the deal is six years for $63 million, but gave no numbers for guaranteed dollars. Other sources reported the deal has $28 million in guaranteed dollars with $40.5 million paid out over the first three seasons. The pact would have Cassel under contract through the 2014 season.
The deal is the biggest contract in the 50-season history of the Chiefs, surpassing the six-year, $45.05 million deal signed by Larry Johnson in 2007, that included $19 million in guaranteed money.
“We are excited to be able to reach a long-term agreement for Matt Cassel to be a Kansas City Chief for many years to come,” Chiefs Chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement released by the team. “His proven leadership on and off the field will be a tremendous asset to the organization.”
The Chiefs also had a comment from GM Scott Pioli: “We are happy to announce that the Chiefs and Matt have entered into a multi-year commitment. Since Matt arrived in Kansas City, he has embraced the team and the community. His work ethic, his ability and competitive presence is what we expect from our players.”
The 27-year old Cassel was scheduled to make $14.65 million on the franchise player tender that he signed back in February with the Patriots. Wednesday is the deadline for franchise players to sign long-term deals around the league. However, that rule did not effect Cassel because he was traded and the team that franchised him no longer held his rights. Cassel was sent to the Chiefs along with LB Mike Vrabel for a second-round draft choice back in late February. That franchise tender followed him to Kansas City.
Cassel’s package would leave him in the second echelon of starting quarterback pay, behind guys like Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger and Brett Favre. In 2005, Tom Brady signed a six-year, $60 million contract extension with just under $27 million in guaranteed money.
Not bad for a guy with 15 starts in the last eight years.
waiting for contract #s to see how it compares to what Lombardi said months ago.
https://kcchiefs.com/news/2009/07/14/chiefs_qb_matt_cassel_signs_contract_extension/
https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2009/07/14/big-money-for-cassel/
The April report from Michael Lombardi of NFP regarding quarterback Matt Cassel’s long-term deal indicated that Cassel would receive $36 million guaranteed on a six-year deal.
Though we are coming up empty via traditional efforts to determine details regarding Cassel’s deal, we currently believe that it’s indeed a six-year package, with a base value in excess of $60 million.
That’s more than the six-year deal Tom Brady signed with the Patriots in 2005, which further confirms that he’s one of the most underpaid players in the NFL.
We also believe that the three-year take, one of the key factors in determining the value of a contract, is more than $42 million.
Both the team and the agent, David Dunn, likely will be disclosing no details about the contract, in keeping with the whole “nothing good comes from saying anything” philosophy that G.M. Scott Pioli brought with him from New England.
Once the contract is officially filed with the NFLPA, however, the full numbers will be leaked.
And the precise comparisons to Brady’s deal undoubtedly will follow.
Cassel and the Chiefs worked out a six-year deal that will pay him in excess of $10 million a season, according to a source. The contract will keep Cassel with the Chiefs until 2014. The team is expected to make an announcement Tuesday afternoon.
The deal is for $63 million, with $28 million guaranteed, according to a source. He’s going to make $40.5 million in the first three years of his contract. https://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4327067
ca$$el aka money pit: another wa$te of cap $pace as well a 2nd round pick; Carl Peterson would be proud.
daddy-o, ’search’ & ‘check’ affirming…
Chris Mortensen: The deal has $30 mill guaranteed, 6 years, $60 mill+, $40 mill paid in 1st 3 years.
I said before that I thought it would be best to wait until late in the season or even after, before giving Cassel a long term deal, I still feel that way. I sure hope like hell, he’s no one year wonder! So had Pioli!!
Kinda funny that NFP hasn’t even touched this story yet!
Maybe every ones asleep over there.
Or maybe their gun shy after blowing the story the first time. LMAO!
Mort! Ha! Another very unreliable reporter! I wouldn’t put much stock in any numbers he spews.
Chiefs were aldready on the hook for $14 mill guaranteed this yr. It makes sense locking him up longterm for $13 million more. Do any of you honestly think that the chiefs would have gotten Cassel for only $15 million guaranteed if they waited till AFTER the season started?
Just for reference, here are some similar rookie deals which will put things into perspective:
Matthew Stafford - 6yr $72 mil ($42 mil guaranteed)
Mark Sanchez - 5yr $60 mil ($28 mil guaranteed) as the 5th overall pick
Matt Ryan - 6yr $72 mil ($35 mil guaranteed) as the 3rd overall pick
Joe Flacco - 5yr $30 mil ($9 mil guaranteed) as the 18th overall pick
JaMarcus Russell - 6yr $60 mil ($31 mil guaranteed)
Vince Young - 5yr $58 mil ($26 mil guaranteed) as the 3rd overall pick
It definitely makes sense to pay the seasoned vet than get stuck with a top 5 pick rookie contract where a lot of time will be spent on the bench learning to adjust to the NFL.
Cassel should be playing at a high level NOW compared to the other guys who are still figuring things out.
First and foremost, I think to many Chiefs fans concern themselves with the Hunt family fortune.
findthedr, you will be correct so long as he plays to the level you expect him to, But! what if he doesn’t? It would have been cheaper to have eaten a one time $15 mil Tender as apposed to what? a min. of probably $40 mil? if he sucks.
Then you get into the deal where the Chiefs just keep on keeping on with Cassel, because they have so much vested in him, add in the ego factor of a brand new GM not wanting to admit that he f’ed up the first deal he ever made with the Chiefs, and so on and so forth. If he doesn’t work out the Chiefs will be stuck with him for a long time. I just think it would have been more safe to wait on a long term deal.
So long as he proves to be a player, it’s all good.
I’ll be pulling for this deal to work out but I’m far from certain Cassel is the man.
Another thing about this deal that scares the hell outta me is, Kietzman is crowing about what a great qb Cassel is and will be and it’s the best deal the Chiefs have ever made as a franchise. That bastard ain’t been right about any thing yet!
Congrats to Mike Lombardi and a whole bunch of other ink stained wretches, who got this story right on draft day. Why the Chiefs waited until today to formally announce it is part of the new regime that will only release things on their own time, which is fime. But Lombardi was right, did a great reporting job, which many in the KC press shoud learn from, and those that ridiculed him and others back then owe him an apology.
There was ZERO chance Cassel was going to go into the season on he 1 year contract.
anonymous says:”findthedr, you will be correct so long as he plays to the level you expect him to, But! what if he doesn’t?”
…..
That can be said about any player…look at LJ or Priest who didnt live up to their contract extensions.
That being said, Cassel is less of a risk than someone like Stafford, Sanchez, or Freeman. The Chiefs aldready know that Cassel can play at a high level in the NFL. Now the chiefs just have to build a team around him to give him an oppurtunity to do what he did last yr.
Mark,
Lombardi was postulating $36 million guaranteed, and the actual contract is around $28-30mill guaranteed. Thats a significant diffrence
Great! Now let’s get our draft picks signed and get them into camp on-time.
Really enjoyed this quote from Pioli:
“Since Matt arrived in Kansas City, he has embraced the team and the community. His work ethic, his ability and competitive presence is what we expect from our players.”
He’s not drooling over his work ethic, ability and competitive presence. It’s merely expected now. Exactly how it should be.
Your easily impressed Mark, any jackass can guess that if a deal was done, it would be in the five or six year range. The rest of that story is yet to be known.
findthedr,
Explain to me the problem (other than Hunts finances) with test driving Cassel for a year.
Keep in mind that the Chiefs could have franchised Cassel again. So no chance of losing him with out some serious compensation.
Just curious.
This is an all-in move by the front office. All-in to send a message to Cassel and, by extension, the team, that this is the guy to lead the team out of the wilderness and back to the playoffs. That’s all well and good.
The options and subsequent leverage of putting Cassel in play for 2009 as the starting QB with his 1 year tender have now gone thataway. Consider that. If the guy proves, well, proves there’s a reason for him being a 7th round pick and bombs, the franchise is licking wounds for about 3 or 4 more years. That’s a conservative estimate, by the way.
Then, the deal of Haley’s statement to Thigpen is another issue about there being open competition for the job in training camp. That was before the long term deal announced today, and this is now. How would you feel if you were Thigpen about now? Yeah, me too.
Okay, this may very well all work out, the clouds will part with sunshine shining in and Cassel will be the guy with the longterm deal being justified and all is well. The other side?
Pioli and Haley have put their jobs on the line with this move and anyone not understanding that fact isn’t paying attention.
I’m glad something got done. Its a reasonable “value” deal as QBs go. Don’t think they won’t eye somebody to follow him fairly soon. Remember, Brady was behind Bledsoe. They didn’t hesitate to make a change when a decision became necessary.
One of the earlier posts has it right: they must continue to build around him. Haley apparently believes, and has commented, his RBs seem to be pretty good. I also have to believe he has some level of comfort in the talent, if yet undeveloped, at WR since that’s his forte & no really big overhaul was done in FA or the draft.
I see 2010 as the REAL transformative year where newer, younger OL will come into play as well as some young LBs…
I believe the team will be better in all phases but perhaps most significantly on Special Teams - especially the coverage units.
I heard the KC Chiefs were Involved in a High Stakes Poker Game.
Matt Cassel was waiting patiently for his hand to be dealt.
No other players were present or for that matter even invited…
The rules of the game were simple.
Matt had to promise to stay healthy, to live & breathe KC Chiefs, to stay out of trouble, to turn the franchise around by completing (at least)65% of his passes, 4,000 yds. passing, 30 touchdown passes, per season for just 6 years. There would be additional money rewarded for winning playoff games, divisional titles & 1 or more Super Bowls.
In return the KC Chiefs would agree to pay him 60 plus million dollars with incentives, bonus’s & guaranteed money.
After much negotiating the terms were agreed by both parties.
The cards were dealt quickly & quietly. 5 card stud, no extra cards, no more betting. Winner takes it all.
Whoa.. hold on a moment. What do you mean the winner takes it all, Just who is the winner anyhow? Yikes… that’s a good question.
Why of course… The winner is the loyal fans. Yes, You & me & all our friends in Chiefs Nation.
Why is it that all of these well intended negotiations & promises make us feel a little bit uneasy. We have absolutely no control of the future or any decisions being made.
Our participation is vital. The team needs us, (now more than ever). Now is the time to have a little faith & belief that all is well.
We now have to believe that the new guys in town, have gotten rid of the pestilence that has plagued this city for two generations. Maybe they can see into the future. Maybe they can pull all the right strings. Maybe they can show us the way.
Maybe,in time, They will bring the Lamar Hunt trophy back home again…. Go Chiefs
anonymous says,”Explain to me the problem (other than Hunts finances) with test driving Cassel for a year.”
………
it would cost the chiefs $14 million this yr guaranteed and potentially that much next yr for a 2yr total of nearly $30 million. If after this yr the chiefs try to get him to a longterm contract, then the total guaranteed payout would be greater than the $28-30 million the chiefs have cassel for 6yrs. Remember, next yr is a potential uncapped yr.
So “other than Hunt’s finances” waiting would make little buisness sense, and potentially costs the team money that they could use toward other players (whoever that may be).
At best Cassel improves upon last yrs performance, and at worst the chiefs have to surround him with talent on the level of NE. Hailey and Pioli are pretty smart guys, and obviously they were comfortable with Cassel being their franchise qb based on game tape of last yr as well as OTA’s this yr.
Have comfort in the fact that it is the ‘personel director of the decade’ (pioli) making this decision instead of CP.
Maybe they already had the leader on the field waiting for his chance to start it up again this year!!
Im happy with it, this is great, hes a leader, plain and simple, good stuff. Ill take him over sanchez any day
can now buy a cassel jersey as well-
guys lets not get to excited yet i want this to be a grat deal but i dont no that it is a great deal, he had a good year in ne but they had a pretty easy schedule and whenever the kid was presured he made alot of mistakes against a team with a good d, watch the game he had against pitsburgh
Good deal for Cassell. What a story for Cassell from rags to riches. Last year this time he was backing up Tom Brady making the league minimum this year he’s one the top paying quarterback in the league. Just hope he continues get better and continues to apply the same work ethic as his predecessor Brady.
I remember a couple other guys that played QB behind truly great ones, and stepped up and had a good season in relief, after the starter went down.
Gerbac and Bono that’s just two for KC, toss in Rob Johnson, the other QB that played for the Bills while Kelly was the starter, that had a good season too, went to Detroit and stunk the joint up.
There’s ah many ah slip tween a cup and a lip.
We’ll see, I hope he’s a pro bowler multi times over, and ends up in Canton, but, I can’t help being a little uneasy.
Agreed findthedr. I trust Pioli decision making far more than Peterson. You don’t have the kind of success he’s had as a GM not knowing what you’re doing. This guy has seen great players and great teams he knows talent.
Wow….I was only gone for a few hours.
It is a done deal so, get over it. We had better hope he works out because that is a heck of a lot of money. The cap hit could cripple this team for years.
I personally do not get it. The cast around Cassel is weak as a group. Hope he does not get killed by the pass rush while trying to find somebody who can catch a pass, maybe he can pad his uniform with dollar bills to cushion the hits.
To everyone who is excited: Yeah, me too.
To everyone who doesn’t like the deal: it’s a good deal guys, don’t worry about it. Here’s a few reasons:
1. If he played well this year and we franchised him again, the he’d back 14.5 this year and around 16 next year under those tenders. That’s over 30 mil in guarantees right there, and you only get him for two seasons.
2. The Chiefs didn’t have to make this deal. The fact that they did so now shows that Cassel has been impressive enough in OTAs as a player and a leader that the Chiefs wanted to make sure to get him locked up to a deal now. That’s a good sign.
3. It’s a front loaded deal. Most of the money is tied up in the first three years. We have lots of cap space this year and there’s no salary cap next year so his deal won’t hurt our cap situation much, even if he doesn’t live up to expectations.
4. He’s better than what we had.
5. He’s a safer bet than a top 10 rookie.
6. He’s worth just as much as Tyson Jackson, who’ll probably get paid nearly as much even though he’s a rookie at a less important position.
7. Rin thinks it’s a bad signing so it must be at least an ok signing in reality.
There’s bound to be more reasons to like this deal, but I’ll stop for now. Cassel is the new face of the franchise and the QBotF. I’m confident he’ll prove himself worthy of his new contract and I can’t wait to cheer for him and the rest of the team! Bring on the season! I’m so damn tired of hearing about our sh*tty baseball team!
Oh, forgot one other thing.
8. I’m a moron.
And the phony got his thumbs out of his ass long enough to strike again. Get a life dick hole.
And if you have any doubt I’m talking about you Harold C.
This is an excellent deal. Cassel held all the playing cards, he was never going to get anything less, I’m actually surprised he isn’t up there with the likes of Peyton and Big Ben in terms of salary with how fast payouts are growing these days. A lot of people have echoed the sentiment “wait until the season is over to sign him long term.” Not really a viable solution, if he has another great year (which is what we expect after giving up a 2nd rounder with that franchise tag tender) his value will increase, making a deal next year harder to obtain, couple that with an uncapped year and free agency and keeping him in KC is a real chore. To keep it simple, you don’t give up that much for a one year player, he had to be locked up this year.
There is somewhere we like to go.
For Chiefs news it’s a great place.
When it comes to coverage of our Chiefs
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But sometimes when we’re blogging
Someone crawls out of his hole,
And so a reminder must ring out,
Don’t feed the idiot Troll.
Sometimes we will be reading
And we will see a smiley grin,
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But then someone starts fouling things up,
They have a deep dark soul.
Which is why we need a friendly reminder,
Don’t feed the idiot Troll.
This person makes Rin look real great
But hey don’t get me wrong
I’ll still keep skipping Rin’s posts
Especially when they are way too long.
We just want to read about our Chiefs
Good reading is our goal
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Don’t feed the idiot Troll.
If only we had a log-in system
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We’ll probably have to put up with this for a while,
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Somehow I feel that an ode to someone seems counter to attempting to not feed the same.
9. I pooped in my pants.
I claim the above post also.