Akers Could Be Getting A Contract Extension Soon

PhillyPhreak54 · August 23, 2005, 05:06:43 AM

QuoteSources have told The Times that there are negotiations going on to reward kicker David Akers, who still has three years remaining on his current contract, with a new deal. Gerald Colton, hired as Akers' agent this past offseason, has been in contact with the team's front office since training camp began at Lehigh on Aug. 1.

The Eagles are back in contact with Colton on what could lead to a new deal for the three-time Pro Bowl kicker. The Eagles do not comment on current contract negotiations.

QuoteAkers is in the fifth year of a seven-year deal he signed on Aug, 21, 2001, and will earn just over $1 million, thanks to an escalator clause that kicked in from his making multiple Pro Bowls. His base salary this season is $1.025 million. He is scheduled to earn $1.175 million in 2006 and $1.325 million in 2007.

According to salary numbers acquired by The Times, Akers' salary ranks in the middle of the league when compared to other kickers. Houston gave Kris Brown a new deal this offseason that totaled $8 million over five years, an average of $1.6 million per year, while the Giants gave Jay Feeley a two-year, $2.2 million deal.

QuoteNew England placed the franchise tag on Vinatieri last February and he signed a one-year tender for $2.5 million in April. Akers is looking for that kind of average per year in his new deal

Susquehanna Birder · August 23, 2005, 07:10:21 AM

Pay the man...before Rosenhaus gets ahold of him.

jeffreyjpa · August 23, 2005, 07:37:29 AM

Here's a guy who has "out-performed his contract...good move by the Eagles, if they can lock him up. Kickers can play a long, long time in the NFL, and it's nice to have one as money as Akers.

ice grillin you · August 23, 2005, 08:05:25 AM

im usually anti front office...but theres no way you pay a kicker big money..let him play out his final two years and then move on

Diomedes · August 23, 2005, 08:11:20 AM

Why not wait until after this season to extend him? With 2006 and 2007 already under contract, why pay him now?

Zanshin · August 23, 2005, 08:22:35 AM

Giving Akers some financial security and recognizing him as a top kicker in the league is okay with me. It's not like he's going to be a real drain on the cap, regardless.

As far as "why pay him now"...I'm quite sure it would be a PR move for the benefit of the locker room and the media. Get a little of that TO/Hollis/Simon/Westbrook bitter taste out of the mouth....

ice grillin you · August 23, 2005, 08:26:57 AM

i realize their positions and salary slots are different...but they are insane if they sign akers with two years left on a decent deal before they sign westbrook...who is ridiculously underpaid and far more valuable...

Diomedes · August 23, 2005, 08:28:40 AM

Quote from: Zanshin on August 23, 2005, 08:22:35 AMAs far as "why pay him now"...I'm quite sure it would be a PR move for the benefit of the locker room and the media. Get a little of that TO/Hollis/Simon/Westbrook bitter taste out of the mouth....

If that's the case, it would be a shrewd move. Not least because, even if Akers gets what he wants (average 2.5M per year), it would be an inexpensive (and hence dubious?) way of demonstrating that the team rewards players who play well by their rules.

Zanshin · August 23, 2005, 08:30:16 AM

Quote from: ice grillin you on August 23, 2005, 08:26:57 AM
i realize their positions and salary slots are different...but they are insane if they sign akers with two years left on a decent deal before they sign westbrook...who is ridiculously underpaid and far more valuable...

It's so apples to oranges that you can't make that stick. It's not like they can sign one or the other. Akers can get done while they work on Westbrook. Akers won't impact that negotiation in the slightest.

Zanshin · August 23, 2005, 08:31:04 AM

Quote from: Diomedes on August 23, 2005, 08:28:40 AM
Quote from: Zanshin on August 23, 2005, 08:22:35 AMAs far as "why pay him now"...I'm quite sure it would be a PR move for the benefit of the locker room and the media. Get a little of that TO/Hollis/Simon/Westbrook bitter taste out of the mouth....

If that's the case, it would be a shrewd move. Not least because, even if Akers gets what he wants (average 2.5M per year), it would be an inexpensive (and hence dubious?) way of demonstrating that the team rewards players who play well by their rules.

Exxxxactly...and that thinking has Eagles FO written all over it.

Diomedes · August 23, 2005, 08:34:21 AM

Quote from: Zanshin on August 23, 2005, 08:30:16 AMAkers won't impact that negotiation in the slightest.

If they give Akers a 5 year deal that averages 2.5M, it won't impact what the team can do with Westbrook? How do you see that? There's only so much money to go around.

ice grillin you · August 23, 2005, 08:39:24 AM

It's so apples to oranges that you can't make that stick. It's not like they can sign one or the other. Akers can get done while they work on Westbrook. Akers won't impact that negotiation in the slightest.

i suppose you missed the part where i said i realize they play different positions and have different salary levels...regardless..to say it will have no impact financially is wrong...but more than that it would impact the lockeroom as its mere appearance would be more than puzzling...problem is the front office could care less what any player thinks...so i highly doubt that would prevent them from doing it

Zanshin · August 23, 2005, 08:39:25 AM

The Eagles aren't in the most dire of cap circumstances. You know that the Akers deal will give him some nice upfront money, but will be backloaded to look like a better deal than it is.

Next year (at the latest) Simon comes off the books, and that will be more meaningful than anything a kicker gets. So, if the Eagles think they have the room this year, they can frontload the meaningful part of the deal so that Akers could conceivably have an even lower cap number next year.

There are a ton of ways to do it...but there's no way anything they realistically do for Akers will have a detrimental effect on the FO keeping guys they feel they have to hold on to.

Zanshin · August 23, 2005, 08:42:17 AM

Quote from: ice grillin you on August 23, 2005, 08:39:24 AM
It's so apples to oranges that you can't make that stick. It's not like they can sign one or the other. Akers can get done while they work on Westbrook. Akers won't impact that negotiation in the slightest.

i suppose you missed the part where i said i realize they play different positions and have different salary levels...regardless..to say it will have no impact financially is wrong...but more than that it would impact the lockeroom as its mere appearance would be more than puzzling...problem is the front office could care less what any player thinks...so i highly doubt that would prevent them from doing it

Nope, I didn't miss it...but you said that then went on to compare it anyway. As far as the rest of the post, I was sort of hoping for coherent English. I got the last part about the Eagles not caring what any player things...but I'm not sure that's a fair assessment.

jeffreyjpa · August 23, 2005, 08:48:32 AM

I see the Eagles giving Akers about $1 mil more per season (on average) having very little impact on their ability to extend Westbrook and maybe Michael Lewis within the next two months. They are still $10 mil+ under the cap for this season. I think some folks undervalue a money kicker.

I still feel confident that Westbrook will have an extension done by the end of September or sooner.