Wednesday, May 19, 1999
Bengals form incentive package for Smith
Agent unlikely to agree
BY GEOFF HOBSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Bengals have crafted a contract proposal for rookie quarterback Akili Smith based on incentives in an attempt to avoid the mega-deals they gave Dan Wilkinson and Ki-Jana Carter.
Bengals President Mike Brown said Tuesday that his plan embraces similar concepts to the contract Ricky Williams signed with the New Orleans Saints last week. The Saints require Williams to stay with the club for at least seven years and put up Hall of Fame numbers to get big money.
“Our (proposal) will be set up a little differently, but it's consistent with what we're thinking,” Brown said. “We have a plan in mind, and it's based on the player's performance, not just paying him for the mere fact he was drafted high.”
The Bengals have been trying to submit the proposal to Smith's agent, Leigh Steinberg, but have been unable to get the negotiations started. Steinberg couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday, but he probably won't like it.
Steinberg negotiated the Wilkinson and Carter contracts in which the Bengals gave his clients record rookie signing bonuses as well as the ability to void the last years of the contract so they could become free agents after four years.
Plus, Steinberg no doubt wants to match the structure given Browns quarterback Tim Couch, the No.1 pick taken two slots before Smith by the Cleveland Browns. Not only did Couch get a record $12.25 million to sign, but the Browns also have to pay him another $8.75 million after the third year to buy him back from free agency.
“It didn't work for us, and we aren't looking to repeat it,” Brown said. “We are not enamored with the buy-back or voidable schemes. We think it's inequitable to the team and to veteran players. It takes money away from some veterans in the out years and gives it to a first-rounder no matter how he plays.”
Carter, a Penn State running back taken with the No.1 pick in the 1995 draft, has missed about two of his four seasons with injury. Wilkinson, an Ohio State defensive tackle who went No.1 in 1994, never lived up to his potential and forced a trade when the Bengals made him a franchise free agent in 1998.
Brown is also leery of repeating the Kerry Collins fiasco in Carolina. Collins, a Steinberg client, displayed enough inconsistency during his first three seasons that the Panthers didn't want to exercise the buy-back.
“What you're seeing under those voidable buy-back deals is players leaving their teams before they had a chance to really settle in,” Brown said.
The Bengals' incentive-based proposal for Smith is a long shot, but if they have any hope at all, it's in Philadelphia. The Eagles are negotiating with Donovan McNabb, the second pick in the draft. The Eagles are vowing not to agree to voidables and buy-backs. But if they do, the Bengals may be forced to follow, since the two players drafted before Smith also are quarterbacks.
“If the guy plays well, he'll be paid well,” Brown said.
Smith certainly will be paid well at the beginning. Couch got 41 percent of Cleveland's rookie pool. The same portion of the Bengals' rookie pool (41 percent of $4.2 million) is $1.7 million, which would convert to a $10.7 million signing bonus pro-rated over a seven-year contract, along with a $175,000 minimum salary.
By week's end, the Bengals probably will have signed five of their nine draft picks. But that should have no effect on Smith's portion.
“That's all done by formula,” Brown said. “We only have a certain amount to spend, and it's not going to change. These guys can sign it now or sign it later.”
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