$23M in guarantees for Jets QB
The town so nice they named it twice now has a second quarterback with a fat contract that includes more than $20 million in bonus money.
The New York Jets and representatives for Chad Pennington on Wednesday finalized a seven-year contract extension that is worth $64.197 million in so-called "new money" for the fifth-year quarterback. The deal, which extends Pennington's contract through the 2011 season -- he signed with the Jets as a first-round pick in 2000 -- includes combined bonus money of $23 million.
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Pennington had insisted this summer that he wanted the extension completed by Sept. 1 or that it would have to wait until after the season. On Tuesday, he indicated the deadline might have to be stretched a few days to complete the paperwork requisite to such a deal, but Jets assistant general manager Mike Tannenbaum and agents Tom Condon and Ken Kremer were able to hammer out final details by the deadline.
Both sides have been motivated to strike an accord, and the agents and Tannenbaum have been bargaining for more than two weeks. The representatives from IMG Football, who have now completed a record five contracts that included $20 million or more in guaranteed money, traveled at least twice to New York for bargaining and spent the past few days completing the contract by phone.
Condon and Kremer also negotiated the contract for Giants rookie quarterback and first-round draft choice Eli Manning, who also received $20 million in guarantees. In addition to the Manning and Pennington deals, IMG Football has negotiated agreements which included $20 million or more in combined bonus money for Tampa Bay defensive end Simeon Rice, Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning and San Diego running back LaDainian Tomlinson.
The $34.5 million in bonuses for Peyton Manning is an NFL record.
Said Pennington, on Tuesday, when he conceded that the contract was nearly completed except for some incidental details: "What an extension does, in my opinion, it gives you a sense of excitement, knowing you have more than one chance to help this team, and it is not just a one-year thing. If things should happen, I know for a fact I will have some time to get now to build a championship program. What is exciting about it is that I can finish what we have started."
Pennington, 28, was the 18th player chosen in the 2000 draft, a lottery in which the Jets had four choices in the opening round.
The former Marshall star played in three games, with no starts, in his first two NFL seasons. In 2002, his third year, he replaced Vinny Testaverde as the starter four games into the season, posted an 8-4 record and led the NFL with a gaudy passer rating of 104.2. He missed the first six games in 2003 after breaking his left wrist in the opening preseason contest.
In 28 appearances, and 21 starts, Pennington has completed 476 of 721 passes for 5,418 yards, with 37 touchdown passes, 18 interceptions and an efficiency rating of 95.1.
While he is not blessed with great arm strength, Pennington has great feel for the game, is smart and gets the ball to receivers. A Rhodes Scholar finalist, he is respected by his teammates and possesses a down-home mien that has quickly made him a New York favorite. Pennington has also been known as a "gym rat," a player who loves the game and lives for it since high school.
"He had a football mind," said Jets tailback Curtis Martin. "He's always here studying or lifting weight or something. He should have built his house next to the facility."
New York has several key veterans eligible for unrestricted free agency after this season, but securing a long-term extension with the charismatic Pennington was crucial, and was clearly the franchise's top priority. Had the Jets not been able to consummate a deal with Pennington, the team would have used a "franchise" designation next spring to keep him.
The next target is defensive end Shaun Ellis, who has been talking contract extension all summer. Ellis hopes to have a deal in place in the next week or two.
After that, they would concentrate on defensive end/linebacker John Abraham and tight end Anthony Becht.
Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com. Senior writer John Clayton contributed to this report.
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