Comparing Timmons Contract to Other Middle Linebackers

[stillers4me]

Following LaMarr Woodley’s contract extension earlier this summer a lot of us agreed that Lawrence Timmons, the player selected one round ahead of Woodley in 2007, should be the next player the Steelers target for a long-term deal. On Tuesday they signed him to a six-year, $50 million contract that also comes with $22.5 million in guaranteed money.

Here’s a quick look at how that compares to some other middle linebackers that have cashed in over the past couple of seasons, ranked in order of guaranteed money...........

Read more @ http://www.steelerslounge.com/2011/0...e-linebackers/

[86WARD]

Nice info.

[steeldevil]

Good deal for us. Timmons didn't bloom as early as Willis and Beason because he plays in a more complicated defense, but he will be as good as those 2 IMO.

[NCSteeler]

What it points out is 2007 was a monster year to draft MLBers. Nice data

[TMC]

You have to be very careful how you gauge one contract to another. The Patrick Willis contract was a 5 year deal with $50M in new money, but he had 2 seasons left on his deal when he signed it and they bumped up his salaries in the first two seasons (had to contend with 30% rule) and then handed him bonus money in that season as well, spreading the cap hits of that $50M over 7 years. In reality, it was a new 7 year contract for @$53M. He gives some because he got it 2 seasons prior to his deal running out.

Jon Beason also got a 5 year, $50M extension and he had one year left. In reality, it was a 6 year, $51.338M deal. DeMeco Ryans was caught under a RFA tag with the "no CBA rules" deal. His contract was 6 years, $48M. The deals for Dansby and Scott were also accurate as neither were extensions.

Timmons deal was a 5 year extension, but they adjusted his final year money (this season) just like happened with Willis and Beason. It totals 6 years, $50M, but where his 2011 cap hit was $650k, it is now @$5.4M. So, if you truly wanted to compare apples to apples, it should be:

Lawrence Timmons-6 years, $50M
Patrick Willis-7 years, $53M
Jon Beason-6 years, $51.338M
The other 4 remain unchanged.

The 49ers got a discount on Willis, but they also had better leverage with 2 years remaining. The Panthers paid a little more for Beason. It fits in with the other guys even though Timmons career production is a little behind, but he seems to still be improving, so the production over the next 6 years could eclipse the other guys.

[TMC]

What it points out is 2007 was a monster year to draft MLBers. Nice data

It was a pretty monster draft for linebackers across the board. As for the middle, it had Willis, Beason, Timmons, Harris, and Poz. On the outside, there was Woodley, Quincy Black, Stewart Bradley, and Anthony Spencer. To be honest, that is potentially 9 guys who would surprise no one if they made a Pro Bowl one day. One or two might sneak in, but it is not out of the question.