Late last night, former Philadelphia Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson signed a three year contract with the Washington Redskins for $24 million, $16 million of which is guaranteed. Jackson, who was due to make $10.5 million this upcoming season for the Eagles, was released on Friday by the team after reports surfaced that he had loose affiliations to gang activities.
The implications of these take many forms. At first blush, this hurts. Not only do the Eagles lose a key playmaker on their offense and arguably the second best player on their team (behind McCoy), but they lose him to a division rival. Seeing him twice a year will not be a pleasant experience for birds' fans, especially if the rumors of his off-field issues turned out to be false or exaggerated.
Also noteworthy is how much less money he is taking to join the Redskins. His deal with the Eagles paid him $51 million over 5 years with a little over $10 million a year, he's only guaranteed to take home $16 million over the life of the whole contract!
For a player who just came off the best statistical season of his career and at age 27 is in his prime, it would have been plenty reasonable to expect a bidding war over a player widey considered one of the best at his position (a skill position) in the league. Surely the fact that he was released so late in the offseason eliminated a lot of teams that may have otherwise chased him earlier in the offseason, but one would think that a player of his talent, at his age and coming off of a season he just had were available, that most teams would express interest. While it was reported that 9 teams did express interest, to end up with the Redskins on a relatively measley deal considering his talents seems curious and gives credence to the idea that teams are nervous about Jackson and the circumstances that lead to his release from the Eagles.
Also worthy of discussion is the fact that none of his former teammates with the Eagles has come out to speak about him in a positive manner. Jason Kelce was 'excited and happy' following Jackson's release. Jeremy Maclin stated that its not for him to speak on Jackson's behalf and that he'll 'roll with' whatever happens. The only people to truly come out on Jackson's behalf were former NFL players Derrick Ward, who seemed to pick more of a fight with Twitter than anythign else, and former Eagle Donte' Stallworth, who had significant off-field issues of his own to deal with in his career. Again, this proves nothing, but if Jackson truly bought into Chip Kelly's system and had character worth keeping on the team, we may have heard as much from his former teammates. Instead, crickets.
Lastly, for those who think NFL players are overpaid, consider this: Jackson, a pre-eminient wide receiver in the prime of his career, just signed a 3 year, $24 million contract. Back in 2010, the Philadelphia Phillies signed Joe Blanton, not a pre-eminient anything, to a 3 year, $24 million dollar contract. Is the Luxury Tax enough?
