ESPN NFL

Originally Published: March 2, 2004

Lineman will receive $11 million signing bonus

ESPN.com has learned Chad Clifton will sign a six-year, $32.4 million contract with the Packers, which includes a signing bonus of $11 million.

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By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com
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The Green Bay Packers late Tuesday night reached a long-term contract agreement with left offensive tackle Chad Clifton, a deal that will allow them to remove the "franchise" label from the four-year veteran and realize a substantial salary cap savings.

ESPN.com has learned Clifton will sign a six-year, $32.4 million contract which includes a signing bonus of $11 million. The contract makes Clifton, a second-round choice in the 2000 draft, one of the highest-paid offensive linemen in the league.

Unable to reach a long-term agreement last week, the Packers all but assured that Clifton would not depart in free agency by designating him a "franchise" player. That essentially meant the club made Clifton a one-year qualifying offer for $7.021 million. It also meant the Packers had to carry a cap charge of $7.021 million for Clifton.

But when Clifton signs the six-year contract, negotiated by agent Jimmy Sexton through much of Tuesday, his cap charge for the 2004 season will be cut by more than half. That should provide the Packers some flexibility in free agency.

The Packers' tackle joins quarterback Peyton Manning and cornerback Champ Bailey as veterans designated as "franchise" players who agreed to new contracts on Tuesday. There are seven more "franchise" players who are awaiting new deals.

Clifton, 27, is arguably the linchpin veteran of an offensive line that might have been the NFL's best overall blocking unit in 2003. The Packers ranked third in the NFL in rushing offense and surrendered only 19 sacks, second-fewest in the league.

It marked the initial season in which Clifton was able to start all 16 games. Most impressive was the fact that Clifton was able to rehabilitate from the career-threatening hip injury sustained late in the 2002 season when impacted by Warren Sapp of Tampa Bay on a blindside hit.

A former University of Tennessee star, Clifton has appeared in 53 games and started in 48 of them, and is viewed as an emerging star at a key position.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.