Getty Images
The Dolphins used up the three years left with cornerback Xavien Howard’s deal. The new treaty has been called “historic” by some.
Our current goal is to not affix any labels other than the truth about what his old deal was and what his new deal is.
Howard was expected to earn $39.308 million over the next three years. Here are the terms of the new deal, according to a source with knowledge of the terms.
1. Signing Bonus and Roster Bonus: $17.115 million.
2. 2022 base salary: $1.035 million, fully guaranteed.
3. 2023 base salary: $18.15 million, fully guaranteed.
4. 2024 Roster Bonus: $3 million, due on the second day of the 2024 league year.
5. 2024 base salary: $15.4 million, of which $4 million is guaranteed for injuries at signing and fully guaranteed on day three of the 2024 league year.
6. 2025 Roster Bonus: $3 million, due on the second day of the 2025 league year.
8. 2025 base salary: $13.65 million.
9. 2026 Roster Bonus: $3 million, due on the second day of the 2026 league year.
10. 2026 base salary: $15.15 million.
11. Training Bonus 2022-26: $100,000 per year.
12: 2022-26 Incentives: $1 million per year based on achieving a first-team All-Pro or first ballot in the Pro Bowl.
He will earn $55 million over the next three years. Of that amount, $36.3 million is fully guaranteed at signing.
The five-year, $90 million deal has an annual average of $18 million at the time of signing. The new money averaging analysis is a bit more difficult to apply in this case since he only received two more years. That means he’ll make (if the deal is fully honored by the team) more than $50 million more than he should. So, technically, it’s more than $25 million a year in new money. In practice, however, it’s not a $25 million-a-year deal. It’s a $19 million-a-year deal after Howard got what he badly wanted – the cancellation of the previous deal.
And that is significant. Teams rarely if ever replace a deal with three years left. The Dolphins did it without worrying about the precedent it would set.
which is wise. If a future player tries to do the same, Miami’s answer should be simple – perform as well as Xavien Howard and we’ll talk.