How’s This For A Hose Job?

Profootballtalk.com did not beat around the bush when describing what they thought of the deal Gaines Adams signed.

Although the talk in league circles is that agent Joel Segal hopes to use a six-year deal for tackle Levi Brown to surpass the total guaranteed money and average-per-year in guaranteed cash that Browns tackle Joe Thomas received at No. 3, a league source tells us that the Cardinals will not pay more guaranteed money to Brown, the No. 5 overall pick, than defensive end Gaines Adams received at No. 4 from Tampa.

The gap between Thomas and Adams is huge. Thomas got $23.5 million guaranteed on a five-year deal; Adams got $18.5 million on a six. We're not saying that Thomas did a great deal -- but it's clear that Adams got hosed.

First of all, Adams did not have Thomas's deal to reference when signing his own. So, the place to start logically would be the #4 slot last year, D'Brickashaw Ferguson. Ferguson signed a five year, $27.5 million deal with a little less than $18 million guaranteed. Adams signed a $46 million deal with $18.5 million guaranteed. That's an average per year of $7.67 million compared to Ferguson's $5.5 million. And you can bet a #4 overall pick is going to stick around for the length of that deal unless he TOTALLY sucks, in which case you as a Buccaneer fan should be glad that the team didn't give him an outrageous guarantee. Probably at year four or five the team will request a restructure, which Adams will be able to turn into a nice signing bonus.

Adams made it a point to sign a deal to get into camp on time. Cadillac Williams did the same thing a couple years ago. It's a good deal for all parties. Again, someone ask Trent Dilfer (the last big Buccaneer rookie holdout) about his experience holding out for a couple million more. He has said it was a huge mistake that affected his career for quite a while. If $18.5 million guaranteed without having played a single down in the NFL is getting hosed, I would really appreciate it if someone would hose me. Seriously, let the hosing commence. Just tell me what to wear and which direction to stand.