A few financial thoughts on what extensions mean for James Develin, Joe Cardona

It was reported Thursday fullback James Develin and long snapper Joe Cardona will be extended. Even though we don't yet know all of the details of their new deals, I wanted to share some quick thoughts on both.



First, Develin. Chris wrote about his impact and what he means to the offense here. Develin's extension is reported to be for two years and for $3.8 million, and is expected to receive a $600,000 signing bonus.

His 2018 cap number before the extension was $1.475 million. It consisted of:

$800,000: salary
$300,000: 46-man active roster bonus
$200,000: playing-time incentives
$150,000: signing bonus proration from 2017 re-signing
$25,000: offseason workout bonus

Here is my guess on his 2018 cap number after his extension:

$800,000: salary
$300,000: 46-man active roster bonus
$200,000: signing bonus proration from 2018 extension
$150,000: signing bonus proration from 2017 re-signing
$25,000: offseason workout bonus

Basically, I expect his 2018 cap number to remain at $1.475 million.

Here is my guess on Develin's 2019 cap number -- $1.65 million

$1,000,000: salary
$400,000: 46-man active roster bonus
$200,000: signing bonus proration from 2018 extension
$50,000: offseason workout bonus

Here is my guess on Develin's 2020 cap number -- $1.95 million

$1,300,000: salary
$400,000: 46-man active roster bonus
$200,000: signing bonus proration from 2018 extension
$50,000: offseason workout bonus

While I expect the deal to continue to have $200,000 in playing-time incentives, I expect them to be removed for the 2018 season.

Develin's deal as reported has a $1.9 million new money APY. The $1.9 million APY makes Develin the sixth-highest paid fullback, a relative bargain -- I consider him a Top 5 fullback.

Develin joins James White, Rex Burkhead, Sony Michel, and Ralph Webb as Patriots backfield members who are signed through the 2020 season.

As for Cardona, ESPN's Mike Reiss reported his extension is for four years. (Price opines the reason for the extension here.)

Most veteran long snappers are paid around the same amount of money. The highest APY for a long-snapper (Jake McQuaide) is $1.175 million. The Vikings' Kevin McDermott has a $1 million APY. While the two APYs differ by only $175,000, there are 13 long-snappers between McQuaide and McDermott. I expect Cardona's deal to have a relatively small signing bonus (between $500,000 and $800,000) for a four-year extension.

Since 46-man active roster bonuses are standard in Patriots multi-year contracts, I project Cardona's to have them, somewhere between $50,000 and $100,000. With only knowing the length of the deal, it's difficult to project the details of the extension, but it seems safe to project that Cardona's new money APY will be somewhere between $900,000 and $1,200,000. The fact that the only number we heard so is the length of the deal makes me confident that Cardona's APY will be closer to $900,000 than to $1,200,000.

Please note -- Develin's cap number should take up no more than one percent of the Patriots adjusted cap numbers throughout the life of his deal, while Cardona's will take up even a smaller percentage.

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