A New Bobby Wagner Contract – Can The Seahawks Afford It?

Taking a look at where Wagner’s contract might fit in the landscape of MLB salaries is tricky.  There’s no question now that he ranks among the league’s best middle linebackers, he was voted to his first Pro Bowl this year and even got an MVP vote thanks to Tony Dungy.  But the top of the MLB contract list is littered with high draft picks, some of them from the old pay-them-whatever-we-want CBA rules for rookie contracts.

Here’s a glance at the top 5, listed in order of average annual value (per overthecap.com):

1. Jerod Mayo, Patriots:                         5 years, 48.5 Million, 6 Million guaranteed
2. Lawrence Timmons, Steelers:        5 years, 47.8 M, 11 M guaranteed
3. Navarro Bowman, 49ers:                  5 years, 42.25 M, 11 M guaranteed
4. Brian Cushing, Texans:                      6 years, 52.5 M, 21 M guaranteed
5. James Laurinaitis, Rams:                 5 years, 41.5 M, 13.62 M guaranteed

Our own Keith Myers went deeper into predicting what Wagner might get.  You can read that piece here.

A few points of note:

• All of these players were drafted under the old CBA and playing on their second deals
• Mayo, Timmons and Cushing were all Top 15 picks
• Laurinaitis was taken in the 2nd round in 2009, while Bowman was one of the steals of the 2010 draft, lasting until the 3rd round

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• 3 pros and cons of Seattle Seahawks drafting Anthony Richardson

It’s interesting to note the general similarities in these deals, considering the difference in draft backgrounds.  The message is clear; perform at a Pro Bowl level and your original draft status goes out the window when negotiating your second deal.

Next: What Does Bobby Wagner Deserve?