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Brad Johnson's agent says the Bucs removed a guaranteed $1.5-million, bringing talks to a halt.
By RICK STROUD, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 3, 2003
TAMPA -- If ever a team had reason to appreciate its starting quarterback, it's the Buccaneers.
But according to his agent, the Super Bowl champions have a funny way of showing it.
Willing to restructure his contract to help the Bucs defend their Super Bowl title, Brad Johnson was surprised to discover the team removed $1.5-million in guaranteed salary in 2004 from their proposal.
The omission not only killed the deal, it left Johnson wondering what commitment the team has to him beyond next season.
Instead of reaping a savings of more than $4.7-million from the salary cap by restructuring Johnson's contract, the Bucs now are struggling to find money to re-sign their free agents.
"It was disappointing," said Phil Williams, Johnson's agent. "In any job, if you've got a benefit that is asked to be taken away, I don't know anyone that would be pleased with that, especially a Super Bowl-winning quarterback. To some degree, it makes both of us ask, 'What's the point?' Why was it even presented? Period. I don't think there's a good answer from our perspective."
Johnson is scheduled to earn $5.5-million in salary next season and would have received a $4.745-million signing bonus, lowering his base pay to the veteran minimum of $755,000.
But when Williams received the new proposal last week, he discovered something was missing.
"I discovered it when I received a fax (of the contract) the week of the NFL scouting combine," he said. "I kept looking for the page that had the (2004) guarantee; I even checked the fax machine to make sure it had paper in it.
"Nine times out of 10, it makes sense for the player to agree to take signing bonus in lieu of salary. When I received the proposal, it was the one time out of 10 that made us do a double-take."
According to Williams, the Bucs believed that Johnson's signing bonus made up for what he lost in security for 2004.
"It was something about the fact that since they were given guaranteed money in 2003 in the form of signing bonus, that made up for it," Williams said. "But that's not the case because we're not concerned about his salary this season, anyway. You're always looking to secure the future years."
Bucs general manager Rich McKay was unavailable for comment Sunday night.
After hearing his objections, Williams said, the Bucs were willing to put the guarantee for 2004 back in the restructured contract. "But by that time, the damage had been done and we really didn't want to talk about it anymore."
Williams said he was seeking a contract that would have enhanced the five-year, $28-million deal that places Johnson in the bottom half of starting quarterbacks at less than $6-million per season.
"I would've liked to nudge him up a few spots and at the same time give cap relief to the Bucs," Williams said. "I haven't tried to put him in the top 10, though his record speaks for itself."
At 32, Johnson battled through injuries to lead the Bucs to their first Super Bowl title in 27 years. He was the team's MVP and was named to the Pro Bowl.
He set a team record with 22 touchdown passes and had just six interceptions despite missing three games with fractured ribs and a back injury. The Bucs scored one touchdown in 12 quarters without him.
Though releasing or trading Johnson after next season would have drastic cap ramifications, Williams said it does not justify removing a guaranteed salary.
"Why would you even think about taking guaranteed money away?" he said. "Because teams can cut players at will, players always want to have their contract structured with as much security as possible. If the club makes any effort to reduce that security, you wonder, 'Why?' "
The Bucs may have damaged their efforts to re-sign linebacker Shelton Quarles, safety Dexter Jackson, tackle Roman Oben and linebacker Al Singleton, to say nothing of acquiring other unrestricted free agents.
Tampa Bay reportedly is just $500,000 under the $75-million salary cap. Since Jan. 1, the Bucs have restructured the contracts of Ronde Barber, Martin Gramatica, Derrick Brooks, Joe Jurevicius and Ken Dilger and are attempting to finalize a new deal for Simeon Rice.
"I'm sure everybody wants to know why Brad hasn't done it, hasn't restructured his contract," Williams said. "But we didn't expect that proposal."