$33M for Celek; WR Norwood Added
The Philadelphia Daily News - Eagletarian
$33M for Celek; WR Norwood Added
Les Bowen, Daily News Staff Writer
One week after signing tackle Winston Justice to a 4-year contract extension, the Eagles announced a 6-year deal with tight end Brent Celek that will keep him with the team through 2016.
A source close to the situation said Celek will make $33 million over the life of the contract, with $11 million in bonus money.
"I'm happy that I can spend the rest of my career here, hopefully," Celek said.
Meanwhile, with only three healthy wideouts, assuming DeSean Jackson sits Sunday with a concussion, the Eagles made a roster move Tuesday. Former Penn State wideout Jordan Norwood is up from the practice squad and corner Ramzee Robinson is cut.
Is this a good deal for Celek? The average is $5.5 million per year, with incentives, and last offseason, you could franchise a tight end for $4.62 million, so by current standards, certainly. The potential problem is the familiar one the Birds have faced many times in these situations -- is Celek going to feel underpaid, say, four years from now?
Of course, he gets $11 million in security, in a league where contracts aren't guaranteed and a player can suffer a career-ending injury at any time.
"I'll tell you right now that I'm set and I'm happy with my deal," Celek said. "I can promise you that I won't be up here complaining about my deal (in a few years), because they put trust in me by signing me early and giving me financial security for the rest of my life. I owe it to them to play out my deal."
The Eagles said they have now signed 22 players on the current roster (including players on injured reserve) to multiple contracts. Twenty-two players are signed through 2012 and beyond.
"Obviously, everybody talks about the financial aspects of it, but it’s nice, we always say this before the draft, before free agency, it’s nice to have basically your core group of guys locked up one way or another and not have to go out into free agency or the draft saying we need this position, we need that position," general manager Tom Heckert said. "That’s when the mistakes happen. The more guys we can have under contract and obviously the young guys and the guys we expect to be here for a long time, it’s the best case scenario.”
Asked about the team's philosophy on long-term extensions, general manager Tom Heckert said: "We're taking some of the risk, and so is [Celek]. "
Celek is one of four players from the Eagles' 2007 draft class still on the roster. Celek was a fifth-round pick. The others are second-rounders Kevin Kolb and Victor Abiamiri and third-rounder Stewart Bradley.
Celek has emerged as one of the NFL’s top tight ends in 2009, ranking tied for seventh in receptions (54), fifth in yards (601), and tied for fourth in touchdowns (5) among all tight ends. His reception and touchdown totals also lead the team.
Celek earned the starting job this season after a strong postseason performance in 2008, when he led the team with 19 receptions and three touchdowns. He set a franchise playoffs record with his 10-catch performance in the NFC Championship game at Arizona.
For his career, Celek has played in all 43 games (22 starts) since entering the league, posting 97 catches for 1,097 yards and seven touchdowns. His reception and yardage total have improved in each of his three seasons.
Celek suffered a thumb strain against Washington, which he termed torn ligaments. Celek said he "should be OK for this week." He wasn't wearing any sort of wrapping on his thumb during the press conference.
and Richard Saunders is so right!— L Bears- I love what they're doing, but its a joke to be giving these guys extensions BEFORE giving one to the guy who deserves it the most in Sheldon Brown. This is a guy who basically said football is moe important and played this season in good faith, while injured no less, when he could have pulled a Lito and pouted all season and mailed it in. For that he should be rewarded— Will54
- It's not huge money by NFL standards, but I'd take the deal.— tacklinjoe
- You ever try catching anything with torn ligaments, kelprod?— HandNik
- Well, I hope he stops dropping all the passes like he did on Sunday. He stunk up the joint.
- i like it, Celek has consistently been playing well... but what agents are signing any of their players this year when we're looking an an uncapped next year? just wondering.— fugazi3000
- Hopefully they do the right thing with Sheldon and give him a new deal. I wouldn't mind seeing Avant extended either!— dankil13
- fugazi - no cap also means no floor - so teams won't be required to spend X% of their revenues each year, so less money could be available for players.— dankil13
it's nice he feels like giving his all. well said. stand up guy. i don't know if i could be happy when unexperiened new guys come along and get crazy more money, when i already paid my dues and busted my behind. the system is backwards. being loyal to the team is great, but the team isn't as loyal to players as it seems. the whole thing is bad for morale.— Evilvet- How are you supposed to know if a 6 year deal is a "good" deal on the day the guy signs the deal? Do you have a crystal ball we don't know about? The guy could have a career ending knee injury next game and he just got $11 million guaranteed. Check back in 3-4 years to determine whether it's a "good" deal or not.— JimG
- Brent Celek is now the 2nd highest paid TE in the league. Good for him.— jnbu99
- One of the top TE's in the league? Wow, that's the overstatment of the year.— jbruder02
- Way for all the idiots to dwell on the negative. These are the same guys who have never played sports. Morons.— phillyinsd
- Why do you people feel sympathy for Sheldon Brown. He didn't have a gun held to his head when he signed that contract. No one knew what the market would be. Why would you sign a seven year deal? Because you wanted the bonus money. Brown is a millionaire. I have no sympathy for him. And he's paid to play well. Why should he be given more money for honoring his contracr?— merlinknghts
- Go to your boss and demand more money because you think your worth more...see what you get...— merlinknghts
