Warner Agrees to 7-Year, $47M Deal With Rams
M A C O M B, Ill., July 28, 2000 -- NFL MVP Kurt Warner got the long-term deal he
was looking for Thursday, becoming the highest-paid player in St.
Louis Rams history with a seven-year, $47 million contract.
The deal features $17.5 million in bonuses, $11.5 million nowand another $6 million in a few years. The $11.5 million bonusalone is by far the largest in franchise history, eclipsing the $7million bonus Marshall Faulk got as part of a seven-year, $45million deal he signed last August.
A news conference was set for 1 p.m. EDT today to announce thedeal. Warner’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, said Warner signed the dealThursday night.A news conference was set for 1 p.m. EDT today to announce thedeal. Late Thursday night, Warner said he hadn’t yet signed thecontract.
“I’m assuming I’ll do that early in the morning,” Warner said.“If they bring it to me, I’ll sign it.”
Warner’s wife, Brenda, and son, Cade, have been in training campthe last two days. But the quarterback said that was just becauseRams players had the night off Wednesday.
$10M Signing Bonus
Warner signed for $358,000, the minimum for a two-year veteran,last Friday so he could participate in training camp. He saidearlier today that he believed the sides were close.
The Rams’ initial offer was $42 million for six years, with a$10 million signing bonus.
Warner’s appearance in camp appeared to remove his leverage fromgetting a deal done. But it also apparently pushed both sides toreach an agreement only six days later.
‘Negotiated in Good Faith’
“Everybody moved, and they negotiated in good faith,”Warner’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, said. “They wanted to get a deal done, and so did we.Everyone tried to listen to what the other side had to say.”
The parties had been talking since shortly after the Super Bowl.Warner made only $250,000 in base salary last year, although theRams gave him a $500,000 bonus—the money they had remaining underthe salary cap—after the season. He’s getting a huge raise, butBartelstein has said all along that this case was unusual.
“There’s never been a situation like this, and I give the Ramscredit for dealing in good faith,” Bartelstein said. “There’snever been a player in this position before.”
Warner threw 41 touchdown passes in his first season as astarter. He entered training camp as the third-stringer, and waselevated only after Trent Green suffered a season-ending kneeinjury in the third preseason game.
Cornerback Todd Lyght, designated as the team’s transitionplayer, is the only Rams player not in camp. Lyght also wants along-term deal.