John Denney Becomes Highest Paid LS…By $87

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Last week the Dolphins signed Long Snapper John Denney to a three year contract extension that would, according to his agent Ian Greengross, make him the highest paid player at his position in the NFL. Per a league source we learned of the full details of the contract which confirmed the statement (if we do not include players on tenders). Normally this would not merit a post, but I thought that this was interesting enough to write about to illustrate how pretty small amounts (meaning dollars not thousands or millions) in a contract can help both sides feel good about a contract.

Prior to Denney’s extension the highest compensated LS in terms of annual value was the Giants Zak DeOssie at $1.15 million a year. His total contract was worth $3,450,000. In order to surpass that amount Denney receives a Paragraph 5 salary in 2014 of a pretty quirky amount of $865,087, which pushed the total value of his contract to $3,450,087, enough to lay claim to being the highest paid in the game. Denney’s APY is $1,150,029.

Denney received a $400,000 signing bonus which is the only portion of his contract that is guaranteed. That figure is not at the top of the league, but at 34 years old it would be hard to imagine the Dolphins guaranteeing future salaries. The guarantee works out to be about 11.6% of the total contract value which is close to the figure the Eagles Jon Dorenbos received. Dorenbos is 33.

Miami only increased their cap commitment to Denney in 2013 by $80,000.

View John Denney’s Contract and Salary Cap Page

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