Ryans officially extended

[Roy P]

Originally Posted by WMH

PFT is chiming in:

That's a lot of coin, but Ryans is a 25-year-old two-time Pro Bowler. We've heard criticisms before that Ryans is inconsistent in run support, but he thrived under new coordinator Frank Bush in 2009.

The contract is comparable, although slightly better, to contracts signed by Lofa Tatupu and Brian Urlacher in 2008.

I think almost everyone would agree that this is a good signing. He has earned some good will and faith. With inflation the way it is in Free Agency, we actually got a bargain.

[TheMatrix31]

It's going to be a pleasure, barring injury, to watch Cushing and Ryans tear it up for multiple years at least.

[moonnumack]

I'm happy to see this as well. I was afraid the lack of progress on re-signing our own key players was going to be a problem for the team, but I think this move proves that the organization recognizes its cornerstone players and is willing to reward them. Hopefully, this will set an example to other players in a similar position to play it more like Demeco than Dunta (although he ended up getting paid too, just by the Falcons).
Question to the capologists, is the front-loading of the contract (big signing bonus and 1st-year salary) typical for these kind of deals or does it have to do with the lack of a salry cap this year?

[painekiller]

Originally Posted by moonnumack

Question to the capologists, is the front-loading of the contract (big signing bonus and 1st-year salary) typical for these kind of deals or does it have to do with the lack of a salry cap this year?

IMO the answer is both, it is normal to front load a contract, and it is high this season because of the no-cap year.

[Keith]

Documenting McClain's reported contract details for whenever I get around to making the next cap page update...

six-year, $48 million contract that pays him $14.5 million this year, guarantees him $21.75 million and allows him to earn as much as $26.3 million in the first three years -- or $26.9 million if he earns a $200,000 Pro Bowl bonus each season

http://blogs.chron.com/nfl/2010/03/w...demecos_c.html

No specifics yet on the yearly salaries from the NFLPA.

moonnumack - It is not unusual for teams with ample cap space in the current year, so in that sense, in a year without a cap, it is not unusual.

I suspect the Texans are operating very much under the assumption that the salary cap will be returning in 2011. It is justification for doing a big deal like this now with Ryans (and potentially with Daniels and Pollard) since he was going to have to play for the Texans regardless on the cheap this season without such a contract.