PatsCap: Clearing up two misconceptions about Rob Gronkowski's contract

Recently, there have been two reports about Rob Gronkowski's negotiations with the Patriots that were incorrect on the Patriots' history with reworking contracts early, and whether or not Gronk's contract can even be touched before May 24.

I'm here to set the record straight.

Let's tackle the easy one first. NFL.com's Jeremy Bergman reported that on Monday's edition of NFL "Up to the Minute," Ian Rapoport said, "The Patriots are willing to adjust Gronkowski's contract for at least a year," and that "(the Patriots) never do extensions two years out, but they are at least open to taking a look at Gronkowski's deal and giving him some more money, which he no doubt deserves."

Gronk's current deal with the Patriots was done with two years left remaining on his 2010 rookie deal. In fact, here are Ian's tweets on the Gronkowski extension.

[embed]https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/211133566229291010[/embed]

[embed]https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/211144425726943232[/embed]

Tom Brady has extended his deal with the Patriots three times with two years left. They were:

1. The May 5, 2005 extension, which lengthened his deal that was scheduled to go through the 2006 season by four years so that it would go through the 2010 season.

2. The February 25, 2013 extension. That one lengthened a deal that was scheduled to go through the 2014 season by three years, so that it would go through the 2017 season.

3. The March 9, 2016 extension, which lengthened a deal that was scheduled to go through the 2017 season by two years so that it would go through the 2019 season.

When can the Patriots enhance Gronk's contract?

The second misconception that has been picking up steam lately is that Gronkowski's deal cannot be redone until May 24. Today's example comes from WEEI's Ryan Hannable: "It is worth noting Gronkowski cannot officially sign a new contract right now, as NFL rules don't allow new contracts until a full year has passed. This means Gronkowski cannot get a new contract until May 24."

That's correct ... to an extent. The difference is how any tweak of a contract is constructed.

From Article 12, Section 8 of the CBA: "The contract of a Veteran Player may not be renegotiated to increase the Salary to be paid to the player during the original terms of the contract for a period of twelve months after the player’s most recent contract renegotiation. The first renegotiation of a Veteran Player Contract, however, may take place at any time."

The Patriots have renegotiated a contract at least three times within a 12-month span:

1. In August 2005, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reported "the Patriots basically tore up (Richard) Seymour's old contract and gave him a deal that includes a $1.7 million signing bonus while keeping his salary at $2.8 million for 2005 and $5 million for 2006. Those salaries were enhanced by escalators totaling $5.5 million that Seymour earned in his rookie contract that will be disbursed over the final two years. The signing bonus, for cap purposes, was prorated over two years and added to the remaining proration of his original signing bonus. All told, Seymour's total pay this season will be $4.5 million." On April 12, 2006 Big Sey signed a three-year extension. Under his old deal his 2006 salary was going to be $2.02 million. Under the extension his $585,000 base salary, $1,335,000 in signing bonus proration and $100,000 in offseason workout bonus added up to $2.02 million -- exactly what his salary would have been after the 2005 restructure.

2. The other two times that the Patriots have renegotiated a deal within a year both happened with Brady: On September 8, 2004, they converted most of his 2004 salary into a signing bonus. On May 5, 2005, they extended his deal by four years. On March 6, 2012, they converted most of his 2012 salary and a roster bonus into a signing bonus. On February 25, 2013, they extended his deal by three years.

So, if the Patriots were to convert part of Gronkowski's $8-million salary into a signing bonus, they could extend him today, and the deal would be allowed under the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Answering some logical follow-up questions:

Question: What is Gronkowski's 2018 cap number?
Answer: $10,906,250. It consists of:
$8,000,000 salary
$800,000 signing bonus proration
$1,200,000 option bonus proration
$250,000 offseason workout bonus
$656,250 46-man active roster bonus ($46,875 per game)

Question: What is the minimum salary for a player with Gronkowski's experience?
Answer: $915,000.

Question: What were Gronk's 2017 incentives?
Answer: Gronkowski's $1 million incentive could have been earned in one of the following four ways:

1. Scores 10 touchdowns


2. Catches 60 passes


3. Has 800 receiving yards


4. 70 percent playing-time

1. 80 percent playing-time


2. Scores 12 touchdowns


3. Catches 70 passes


4. Has 1,000 receiving yards

1. 90 percent playing-time


2. Scores 14 touchdowns


3. Catches 80 passes


4. Has 1,200 receiving yards


5. Named first-team All-Pro

• 70 or more receptions


• 1,085 or more receiving yards


• 15.8 yards or more per reception


• Nine or more touchdowns


• Super Bowl victory


• Fourteen or more wins


• MVP


• Offensive Player of the Year