Thu Feb 19, 2009 8:19 pm EST
Execs taken aback by Asomugha, Lechler deals
By Jason Cole
INDIANAPOLIS – Reaction was swift and ugly Thursday to the deals the Oakland Raiders gave CB Nnamdi Asomugha and punter Shane Lechler over the past two days.
"How many different ways can you say, 'What were they thinking?' " a team executive who declined to be identified said after being told the terms of Asomugha's three-year, $45 million contract.
"Insanity, stupidity, whatever you want to attach to it. Yeah, the kid is the best cornerback in the league. They paid for quality. I'll give them that. But that deal wrecks the league. Absolutely wrecks it. … I'm sure Al doesn't care, but it's deals like that that change the league for the worse."
Asomugha (pictured) is guaranteed $28.5 million over the first two years of the deal and the Raiders will have to decide by the fifth day of the league year in 2011 whether to pick up the third season of the deal. If they do, the final year is guaranteed. If not, Asomugha can't be franchised (nor can the Raiders franchise him even if he plays out all three years on the contract), making him an unrestricted free agent at either age 29 or 30. Combined with the $9.7 million Asomugha made last season as a franchise player for Oakland, he stands to make approximately $55 million in a four-year stretch.
"And still hit free agency at the right time for one more big contract, assuming he's healthy," a second team executive said, shaking his head.
The fear among the executives is that the Asomugha deal will have a ripple effect on the rest of the league. Specifically, Tennessee DT Albert Haynesworth is likely to get a contract that exceeds previous deals for defensive linemen such as Jared Allen and Dwight Freeney.
"You can argue that Haynesworth is a defensive tackle or that he's a bad guy," said a third team executive. "But if a cornerback gets what the Raiders just paid, a defensive tackle like Haynesworth is going to get a serious pay day as well."
Similarly, Lechler's deal more than doubled the previous high average for a punter. His four-year, $16 million deal includes $9 million guaranteed, according to sources close to the negotiations. The $4 million average per season exceeds the previous high of $1.8 million.
