The Bengals'
One-Sided Spending
The Bengals and Carson Palmer have become media darlings. They can not get enough of the explosive
offense, and flamboyant star Chad Johnson. They draw comparisons to the Colts frequently
these days. You might as well call them
a “mini” version of them at this point. Both
run the no-huddle offense, and have QB’s with gaudy
stats. They’ve each also lacked defense, and spend a disproportional amount of
their cap on one side of the ball.
There were
two relatively large signings made by the Bengals in
free agency. They have spent most of
their efforts on retaining the services of their own talented players. Over the
past two seasons, they have locked up 8 of their 11 offensive starters. Three of them have become the highest paid at
their position (Palmer, J. Johnson, and now Willie Anderson), and two others
have become among the highest (C. Johnson, Levi Jones). These are quality players, and every fan
certainly wants to keep their own talent, but the Bengals
have done so at a fairly high cost. Carson
Palmer was locked up just weeks before the Wild Card injury to the Steelers,
while he still had three years remaining on his rookie contract. Palmer will obviously be seeing top dollar. He received $118.75 mil for the next 9 years. This would be a yearly salary of $13.2 mil.
The Bengals also extended Palmer’s number one target, Chad
Johnson. He received a 5 year, $35 mil
extension; roughly $7 mil per season. The Bengals top WR/QB duo will cost them
nearly 1/5 of the current cap, but it doesn’t stop there.
The Bengals locked up their two starters in the backfield over
the past two years. Jeremi
Johnson became the highest paid fullback (admittedly, a pretty small sum) with
a 6 year, $7.5 mil contract. Before the
05 season, they made sure they secured Rudi Johnson for the next 5 seasons
(that means 4 more seasons left at this point) at $26 mil (just over $5 mil a
season, obviously). The Bengals are now paying these four players roughly $27 mil.
To go along
with Rudi Johnson, the Bengals also locked up
Palmer’s second target, T.J. Houshmandzadeh. He was given a 4 year, $13 mil contract. This was a steal for a guy who will put up
70-80 catches for them yearly. The total
for the past five players, though? $31 mil a year, or nearly 1/3 of the current salary cap.
Prior to
this offseason, all five of the Bengals
starters on the offensive line were entering the final year of their contract. Obviously, the Bengals
weren’t going to let each starter wait until next year. They began by locking up right guard Bobbie
Williams with a contract extension that added three extra years, and an
estimated $11 mil in new money. Williams
will be seeing roughly $3.5 mil a year, which brings the total to $34/35 mil
for 6 offensive starters.
Next up? Prized LT Levi Jones.
They made him the fourth highest paid
offensive linemen in the league with a $40 mil, 6 year extension. That’s $6.7 per year, and $42 mil for 6
players.
The most
recent signing came just today, with RT Willie Anderson. He was given 5 extra
years, and $32 mil, or $6.4 per year. The
Bengals are paying $48/49 mil a season for 8 of their
starting offensive players.
To put this
in perspective, the Steelers pay these same 8 positions roughly $30 mil per
season (used Faneca instead of Simmons at guard). Granted, Starks and Simmons will be FA’s after
this seasons. Then, does anyone really
think they’ll be given anywhere near that sort of cash? Or that the Steelers are going to be extending
Roethlisberger after this season, with 3 seasons
still left?
If you have
any questions or comments, you can contact me at CKsteeler@hotmail.com, or on
the forums (username CKSteelers).