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A free agent success story
Charles Woodson was a not golden ticket free agent when I negotiated his deal with the Packers in 2006. Saddled with a surly reputation in Oakland, he was available a month into free agency with only tepid interest from the Bucs. Still, I felt like the Green Bay Chamber of Commerce trying to convince Charles and agent Carl Poston that Green Bay was right for him. We were coming off a 4-12 season, had no commitment from Brett Favre whether he was going to play, and his visit was in the middle of a snowstorm.
ICONWoodson is everything the Packers hoped for and more.
We finally worked out a deal that paid Charles $18 million over the first three years – with several million tied to 45-man active roster bonuses, protecting the Packers from his recent injury history – and much upside. When Charles was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in January, the Packers – with not-so-subtle nudges from Woodson and Poston – realized an upgrade was needed.
Woodson’s upgrade is vastly superior to previous upgraded veterans whose performance had surpassed their contracts – Donald Driver (twice), Mark Tauscher and Al Harris among them.
Woodson had three years left on his contract (sound familiar?) with $21 million remaining. The renegotiated amount is $29.6 million dollars although with continued performance as a Pro Bowl corner, Woodson should earn $33 million over that time, an APY (Average Per Year) of $11 million that puts him where he wanted to be in 2006 without the market to get it.
Woodson’s 2010 compensation is relatively unchanged at $7.5 million, although most of that compensation is being paid now as an advance. I am also told that the Packers are advancing future bonus amounts of $21 million over the next couple of years so Woodson has the money in his pocket prior to the amounts being due.
The five-year contract has a maximum value of $55.1 million, but the key is the upgraded amount over the next three years.
Woodson, who turns 34 on October 7th, was not going to contest the outlier deal of Nnamdi Asomugha (who just turned 29) nor the new deal of Darrelle Revis (who just turned 25). The deal, however, validates his worth despite being 5 and 9 years older.
From the moment Woodson stepped on the practice field in his first minicamp with the team, it was easy to tell this was a truly special athlete. To this day, I have only seen one athlete as naturally fluid and strong as Woodson, and that was a classmate at Stanford named John Elway. Woodson just moved, covered and caught the ball effortlessly.
The deal we did in 2006 certainly did not reflect the player he would become. Although Woodson initially clashed with coach Mike McCarthy, their relationship eventually warmed and Charles even grew to enjoy the small-town atmosphere of Green Bay. The Packers received the benefit of that deal due to Woodson’s elite performance and have now torn up that deal to replace it with a deal more worthy for one of the best free agent signings since Reggie White.
