Ronald Darby’s contract with the Eagles is very team-friendly

At first, Ronald Darby’s $8.5 million for one year seemed expensive. Now that the full details are out though, it’s not so bad after all.

Last week the Philadelphia Eagles decided to make one of their more questionable moves of the offseason by retaining veteran cornerback, Ronald Darby. With a handful of guys already on board for cheap, it didn’t really make sense to bring back an injury-prone corner for $8.5 million. Especially when said corner struggled quite often. Although Darby is arguably the best cornerback on the team when he’s healthy and on, his inconsistency is what makes him so unappealing for that entire price. Not to mention, he’s coming off of a major injury that ended his season.

Darby made it clear that he came back to the Eagles because he didn’t have a long-term deal that he liked on the table. That’s not to say that Ronald Darby is upset about having to come back to Philly, because he does seem excited about that. However, signing a long-term contract after two injury-filled seasons could really make a player feel undervalued if he comes back better than ever.

The idea of coming back for one season works perfectly for Darby. You get a ‘prove-it’ opportunity on a team where you already know your teammates, coaches, and the system. They could be the team to retain you for the long-term as they know you best, but if you perform well, then that can start a bidding war. Looking at it from the team’s perspective though, Darby’s deal didn’t look so great. For a guy who played 17 regular season games out of 32, paying him that much for one season didn’t seem too logical. However, with the full details of the deal released, the Eagles worked out a quite team-friendly contract.

The Contract Details:

As it turns out, Darby’s deal is really only $6.5 million. Although he can earn up to the initial report of $8.5 million, that’s not a guarantee. Darby will have to earn the rest through his play. So in all reality, the Eagles got an incredibly team-friendly deal. For reference, Darby isn’t getting much more than some of the top cornerback’s that remain on their rookie contracts. Plus, Spotrac estimated that Darby’s average salary could’ve been somewhere around $10 million. Talk about a team-friendly deal. Some more good financial work from Howie Roseman and the front office.