fyi...
Law could earn $18 million over 2 years if he meets incentives
BY RICH CIMINI AND GARY MYERS
New York Daily News
NEW YORK - (KRT) - If Ty Law re-injures his surgically repaired left foot and doesn't play a down in 2005, the Jets are on the hook for only $1 million and can cut him after the season with no salary-cap implications, the New York Daily News has learned.
But if the former Patriots star stays healthy and plays well this season, he can earn at least a whopping $18 million in the first two years of his contract.
Law's contract, reported Wednesday to the NFL's Management Council, is based almost entirely on incentives and covers the Jets in the event of an injury. According to a league source with knowledge of the contract, the complicated deal includes:
No signing bonus and a $2.5 million base salary in 2005. Law will receive a $500,000 salary advance on Monday and another $2 million on Sept. 15. If he's placed on injured reserve on or before Sept. 10 (the eve of the season opener) due to a left-foot injury, he receives only $500,000 of the remaining $2 million.
That is unusual because, in a standard contract, a player on IR usually receives his entire base salary.
A $62,500 roster bonus for each game that he's active in 2005. That means an additional $1 million if he's active for all 16 games. He also can earn a $500,000 bonus if he participates in at least 85 percent of the defensive plays. That would bring his 2005 compensation to $4 million. There's also a sliding scale of playing-time incentives that could guarantee up to $3 million in 2006.
A team option for $11 million, payable next March, that would extend the contract through 2011. In other words, the Jets can get out of the contract by cutting Law before March, 2006.
A $4 million bonus if the Jets win the Super Bowl this season and Law participates in at least 95 percent of the plays, one of many individual and team-related incentives.