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Big money for McFadden Thursday, May 22, 2008 By Harry King LITTLE ROCK - The news from Atlanta reverberated to Oakland. Quarterback Matt Ryan, the No. 3 pick in the NFL draft, signed a six-year contract with the Falcons that includes $34.75 million guaranteed. Selected right behind Ryan, former Arkansas running back Darren McFadden is a steal at $50 million, the salary he is seeking in a six-year contract, according to David White of the San Francisco Chronicle. The newspaper says McFadden wants $20 million guaranteed. Picked No. 4 last year, Tampa Bay defensive tackle Gaines Adams got a six-year deal for $46 million with $18.56 million guaranteed. Prior to this year's draft, No. 1 pick Jake Long signed a $57.75 million contract with Miami with $30 million guaranteed. Salaries for pro athletes are obscene, but they are what they are and running backs wear out quicker than any others in the NFL. In 2005, Shaun Alexander was the man in Seattle. That year, he set an NFL record with 28 touchdowns and a Seattle record with 1,880 yards rushing. He led the Seahawks to the Super Bowl, was the league's MVP and was rewarded with a $62 million, eight-year contract with $15.1 million guaranteed. Last month, the Seahawks cut the three-time Pro Bowler. After that, he made free-agent visits to Cincinnati and New Orleans and returned to Seattle without a contract. Alexander is 30. According to the National Football League Players' Association, the average career of an NFL back is 2.6 years. In 1960, when the schedule lasted 12 games, only Cleveland's Jim Brown and Green Bay's Jim Taylor carried more than 230 times. Last year, during the 16-game season, each of the top 14 running backs in the league had more than 230 carries and a half-dozen of those players topped 300 carries each. In 2006, Larry Johnson of Kansas City toted the ball 416 times. Last year, he missed half the season with a broken foot. The pounding begins early. Back in 1977, Earl Campbell carried 34 times for 188 yards and caught a deciding screen pass in a 13-9 victory at Fayetteville. After a long time, he exited the shower and politely declined an introductory handshake - his fingers were so gnarled that he couldn't grip. Pittsburgh's Rocky Bleier once said that both he and Franco Harris benefited from Chuck Noll's share-the-ball approach, but these days many teams feature only one back. In Oakland, McFadden is likely to be that guy although the Raiders have a glut of running backs. Owner Al Davis is still very involved and prior to the draft, there was word that he was "intoxicated" with McFadden. Once the guaranteed money is agreed upon, McFadden's contract is likely to include incentives similar to those that Minnesota offered former Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson. Drafted No. 7 in 2007, Peterson's original contract was for five years with $17 million guaranteed. He earned a one-time bonus of $2.45 million when he passed 701 yards last year and added $1 million to his 2011 salary of $3.94 million when he ran for 1,341 yards. If he tops 1,300 yards again, he adds another $3 million to his salary. Another year of rushing for more than 1,000 yards and he will add $2.5 million to his 2010 salary of $2.695 million. In January, he was named NFL Rookie of the Year - a little honor worth a $250,000 bonus. ------- Harry King is sports columnist for Stephens Media's Arkansas News Bureau. His e-mail address is hking@arkansasnews.com. |
