Inside Lenny’s Payday
March 23rd, 2022
Yes, Leonard “Lombardi Lenny” Fournette signed a three-year, $21 million contract plus incentives to stay with Tampa Bay. But the contract reality paints a different picture.
ProFootballTalk.com guru Mike Florio, author of Playmakers, whose forward carries a Warren Sapp story, typed up the specs of Fournette’s deal.
Some highlights:
*Signing bonus and 2022 base salary total $6.5 million guaranteed.
*2022 per-game roster bonus totals up to $500,000.
*2023 base salary is $6.5 million — $2 million is fully guaranteed and another $2 million is fully guaranteed in 2023 (presumably a year from today after the 2023 league year begins.)
*2024 base salary: $6.5 million.
*Roster bonuses for 2023 and 2024 are $500,000 per year.
Performance incentives are not part of Fournette’s 2022 contract, only for 2023 and 2024. In all, the Bucs can dump Fournette after this season and they’d have coughed up/committed only $9 million.
Florio has more details via the link above.
What’s important is Fournette is happy with the deal. He got paid like James Conner did in Arizona, top-10 running back money. And if the Bucs break up the band after this season, then Fournette is back on the free agent market at just 28 years old.
March 23rd, 2022 at 4:40 am
Signing bonus is $4.5m / or $1.5m / year
He has a base salary of $2m in 2022.
So his 2022 salary is just $3.5m. Not bad.
March 23rd, 2022 at 5:58 am
Lenny’s contract is closest I’ve seen in a long time to the way ALL contracts should be written. It has the potential to benefit both the player AND the team. Win-win negotiating.
For Lenny to make the contract’s amount, he has to perform. For Lenny to stick with the Bucs, he has to perform. So IF Lenny performs well each year of the contract (which he obviously feels that he can do), then he makes good money AND he gets stability.
The Bucs also get a good deal financially IF he performs well AND they get to keep Lenny for 3 years (and longer if they wish via a franchise tag). IF however Lenny doesn’t perform well, the Bucs can get out from that contract after about 1 year with no substantial penalty (around a couple mil CAP hit probably).
That to me is an excellent contract all around.
March 23rd, 2022 at 6:40 am
I plan to study this further but it would be helpful to have an article on signing bonuses and void years and other contract gimmicks used to avoid cap hits….
I realize it’s complicated but it sure is important info.
March 23rd, 2022 at 6:47 am
Barring injury, Lenny should be with us for two seasons. I see the Bucs still drafting a RB, but now we don’t have to rush the pick.
March 23rd, 2022 at 7:06 am
Greenberg got creative again
Defense rules- i agree. No doubt about that . Make more performance based deals like that. And Not guaranteed 230 mil after a guy leaves his DNA as a tip after a massage
😂
March 23rd, 2022 at 9:03 am
I’m sure the book Playmakers is good because Florio’s strength definitely is his ability to write Fiction. He puts out some almost daily.
March 23rd, 2022 at 9:29 am
It’s a one year 9 million deal pretty much
March 23rd, 2022 at 9:49 am
Mike Greenberg doing Mike Greenberg stuff
March 23rd, 2022 at 10:05 am
Everyone likes to claim certain things happened because of Brady. They also love to say Brady does all of Licht’s work. I don’t believe that all the time. But This signing really did happen because of Brady. The current staff do not like to pay too much for Rbs. Tom didn’t want to risk relying on Vaughn and a rookie. Especially some 3rd down specialist who tips you hand when he enters the game.
March 23rd, 2022 at 10:15 am
And she hollers YESS with legs in air 😉
March 23rd, 2022 at 12:10 pm
@ Bird – Lmao 😂
I heard that it was a small tip too!