New England Patriots Analysis: Danny Amendola contract team-friendly

The first contract numbers following Danny Amendola‘s signing with the New England Patriots were false, and they tricked us into thinking that Amendola was given the same amount of money per year as Wes Welker received with the Denver Broncos (two years, $12 million). Amendola’s deal was reported at five years and $31 million, but we now know, thanks to ESPN Boston, that Amendola is getting $27.7 million over those five seasons.

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That’s a deal that is friendly for the New England Patriots, because they are getting a receiver who will be as old as Welker is now at the end of his contract for about $5.54 million per year. That’s not a whole lot less than the initially released values, but it is less than what Welker made and makes more sense. It’s also a lot more team-friendly, because it is inaccurate to just say “Hey, Amendola got the same amount of money that Welker did”. We also have to keep in mind that Amendola is just 27, thus making this an even better deal for the Patriots.

However, the caveat here is that Amendola needs to be healthy, and that caveat doesn’t change even with the news that Amendola is getting less money than we thought. The Patriots are still making a significant investment in Amendola by giving him five years, and Amendola’s biggest question mark is injuries. In my opinion, that’s the only truly significant question mark about his ability to perform in the slot, otherwise he is a very good player when looking at his talent.

The Patriots gave Danny Amendola a $6 million signing bonus, and all of his guaranteed money ($4 million since the other $6 million of the $10 million is a signing bonus) will be paid after the first two seasons of his deal in 2013 and 2014. It is important to note that Amendola’s deal significantly escalates by $1 million each year starting at $2 million in 2013 and ending with $6 million in 2017.

One of the shrewdest things about this deal is the fact that the New England Patriots put in roster bonuses of $343,750 in each year of the deal, which means roughly $1.72 million is tied up in those roster bonuses. So if Amendola gets injured, the Patriots are off the hook for those games that he misses (roster bonuses are calculated for each game). That’s a genius move (almost a necessary one, really), and it ensures the Patriots aren’t going to get screwed over by Amendola’s health concerns.

I encourage you to follow the ESPN Boston link above and pour over the contract details of Danny Amendola’s deal, because it is very team-friendly and pretty genius overall by the Patriots.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.