Who has leverage in the Suh contract talks?

[jdwills126]

Going into this off season I believed Suh was going to get a new deal so the Lions could free up cash to sign a couple of free agents. Didn't happen.

The whole debacle with Suh changing agents was just a disaster for that hope. Then I got the feeling Suh's contract would be restructured around draft time so they could afford to sign their picks. Again that has come and gone and the Lions found space by cutting Houston.

I have had an inkling Suh just does not want to resign in Detroit no matter what is said to the press.

As a whole Suh has taken a lot of heat over his actions this offseason...and rightly so, but maybe the blame should be spread around a little more equally with Mayhew and Lewand!

To sign Suh the Lions will have to go over the 68 million 5 years he originally signed for. And with a cap hit north of 26 million if franchised next year the Lions have limited options with Suh.

A contract for an interior D-Line man in the neighborhood of 14 million for 5 years is a huge burden. One I do not think the Lions want to make. So is it the Lions slow playing the contract negotiations? They already missed out on FA. The draft picks are signed. Waiver pickups will be a trade of cuts of current contracts IMO, so why would the Lions need to sign Suh anytime soon?

I don't think the Lions want to pay marquee money for an interior lineman. I think Suh would like a big contract as insurance to injury. 5 years 73 million is a number I heard with the majority of it guaranteed. The Lions are letting him play out the deal so they are obviously in no rush.

What leverage Suh had has passed. So why would the Lions restructure now? If Fairley lives up to hype they can't afford to tie up 20 million on 2 D-Lineman. So I think the Lions are fine with the waiting game and Suh has ponder a good insurance policy.

 

[broncosmitty]

Leverage is all in Suhs favor IMO. They don't pony up, he leaves. And the front office doesn't ever work in the NFL again.

 

[jdwills126]

Leverage is all in Suhs favor IMO. They don't pony up, he leaves. And the front office doesn't ever work in the NFL again.

But whats the point of signing him right now? Even with a great season he will not make much more than what he could get today. He is either the highest paid defensive player today or next season. The Lions restructure him and he gets hurt, they are on the hook for the length of the deal.

He walks at the end of the season the Lions have salary cap space. I just can't see a big rush to sign him to the biggest defensive player contract ever.

 

[tpaulus_2]

I think assuming that he'll get the highest contract ever for a defensive player is probably shooting a bit high.

Biggest contract ever for a DT? Yes. Biggest for any defender? Pretty doubtful, imo. Maybe it happens, but I can't see it for a DT. That mark is for DEs and CBs, usually.

As for the advantage to signing him now? No competition. If he hits the open market it will be a bidding war for his services. As it stands we're the only team who can (legally) negotiate with him.

 

[broncosmitty]

I don't know if there is any reason to sign him before the season starts.(Your point on injuries being 100% sensical.)Not after missing out of every FA that could help the defense. (Got another underneath receiver. Cool.). But the Lions have no leverage on this. He's above that kind of thing now. Not many DTackles are household names, he definitely is. The market will be vast for Mr. Suh if and when he tests it. Bringing in a player of his caliber could electrify a fanbase. It did it to this one when he was drafted.

 

[RestoretheMeow]

Personally qould hate to see him go but I just don't see him in a lions uni in 2015....

 

[jdwills126]

Albert Haynesworth 7 years 100 million that breaks down to 14+ per year. I do doubt Suh gets 7 years but I also think he gets 15 mil per at the base. With the dead cash from his last restructuring 17+ million.


Suh enters the 2014 season with the highest cap figure in all of football at $22,412,500 - nearly 17% of the Lions adjusted 2014 salary cap.


I will say he won't have to carry the highest paid defender long as J.J. Watt will be up in 2016. But I also see him wanting more than Ngata.

I also get the negotiating freely right now but you have to figure he is going to try to get a premium for signing before he can hit the open market. I do not think Suh has any great love for Detroit that he will give them a home team discount.

The risk of injury and the fact Detroit may not want to sign him to that size of contract makes it tough to call if Suh has any leverage. He has a down year it will make him cheaper as I can't see any reason to think he can become more expensive when he already accounts for 17% of the cap.

 

[themuzzer]

If we just let Suh walk after next year, what's our cap space look like next year. I'm kind of leaning on the side of having money to burn rather then keeping Suh and being in a financial bind.

 

[Naughtymax]

Suh does. He's already made enough money that security is not an issue. If the Lions won't pay his number, he will get to walk and sign wherever he likes.

 

[Rollingthndr]

If Albert Haynesworth can get 100 million. Suh should get 75 million, no problem. Ok, he plays DT. The Lions sell so many of his damn jerseys and everything else. Suh is one of the marquee names in the NFL and is worth his price tag. Never injured and always shows up in elite shape. Just pay the guy and forget about it.

 

[TBBishop]

Geno Atkins who was arguably better than Suh before he got hurt last year is the highest paid DT at about $55 mil over 5 years. I'd give Suh another mil a year and not a dime more. To give a DT $14 or $15 mil per is absurd. For Suh to think that he should get a raise after making QB money to this point is absurd. For Suh to have all of the penalties and off field non-sense and think he should get DE money is absurd. I think that Suh absolutely holds most of the power in the negotiations but if he gets stupid and won't be reasonable then let him walk.

 

[LPinSLC]

The Lions don't have a leg to stand on as far as leverage.

 

[jdwills126]

I am sorry for not be clear in the salary he will get after restructuring.

Suh's next contract, with the Lions or someone else, will include 17+ million of dead money included into it. That will count against the Lions cap.

Why would the Lions want to sign Suh to a mega deal and risk injury? SUh is going to want a premium to sign without shopping his services. I can't see why the Lions would want to sign him early.

If Suh has a monster season it will not increase his value. He is at the ceiling for what a team would pay for a DT. But if he has an average season or one with issues like suspensions and/or injuries it will lower his value.

Honestly, like TB said, the market is set with the Atkins and Ngata contracts. If Suh or the Lions wanted the deal done it would. The only question might be how to structure that 17+ million plus whatever was deferred from this last season of the deal.

My guess is the Lions are not in a hurry to sign. They lost FA. They cut Houston. They have approx. 2 million for waiver cuts. The real question is......are they both ready to walk away from a deal.

 

[cubzzzfanincali]

As great as Suh is, I don't think he is worth what someone will wind up paying him, considering how much the league's caps are going up. I actually think both Suh and the Lions front office are both playing this correctly....which has Suh going for the cash he isn't worth from a hungrier team with a worse D line (New York?), the Lions avoiding a big long term mistake, and getting a free agent year money-hungry Suh to play his guts out in 2014.

 

[JDM]

Suh. The lions have nothing.

 

[RobBase]

Mayhew has no leverage. Mayhew is a career loser, while Suh was a career winner until he got to the Lions. Then the local media and retard sheep fans who worship them shit all over the guy after the stomp and have never let it go.

Why would he stay here? A GM with 1 winning season in 5 years doesn't have leverage opening a beer let alone signing a top NFL talent. Let's be real here.

 

[Kreton]

Son of a bitch. I am with thndr again. Pay Suh. He deserves it and is worth it.

 

[jdwills126]

Son of a bitch. I am with thndr again. Pay Suh. He deserves it and is worth it.

Even if it means we can't sign decent free agents?

And why sign him now? He gets hurt he gets paid! All to keep him from negotiating with other teams? He is getting one of the richest defensive player deals in the history of the NFL time ain't going to change that so he will either want to stay in Detroit or he is already planning his next move.

 

[tpaulus_2]

Don't forget that the salary cap is growing by bigger and bigger chunks every year. We can sign Suh to the biggest deal ever for a DT now, and in 3 or 4 seasons it might not seem all that bad when several other DTs have cashed in at or above his mark.

There's definitely an argument for both sides on this one, though, just some food for thought...

 

[jdwills126]

Don't forget that the salary cap is growing by bigger and bigger chunks every year. We can sign Suh to the biggest deal ever for a DT now, and in 3 or 4 seasons it might not seem all that bad when several other DTs have cashed in at or above his mark.

There's definitely an argument for both sides on this one, though, just some food for thought...

I get your point but how many times has a team signed an Albert Haynesworth only to watch the guy under perform and become an anchor?