Melton will seek to better Harris' deal

By Brad Biggs, Tribune reporter

8:36 a.m. CST, March 5, 2013

The Chicago Bears are on the hook for $8.45 million for Henry Melton in 2013 unless a long-term contract can be constructed in the next 4 1/2 months.

Melton is seeking a multi-year deal and the Bears would prefer to have the 26-year-old Pro Bowl performer secured into the future. Finding common ground is the challenge for the two sides.

The team has been down a similar path before with a player at the same position, signing Tommie Harris to a four-year contract extension in June 2008 after he had been named to three Pro Bowls. That was five years ago and one key difference is Harris was still under contract to the team as he was preparing to enter the final year of his rookie contract when he was extended.

The Harris deal was for four years and included $37.965 million in new money with $10 million fully guaranteed. The total excludes an escalator (worth $1.0575 million) for the final year of the deal in 2012 that required him to be named NFL Defensive Player of the Year in the same season the team won the Super Bowl. Harris didn’t achieve those lofty goals and was released two years ago.

Harris’ deal wasn’t all it seemed because of a de-escalating roster bonus in 2012 (one he obviously didn't get) that was worth a maximum of $8 million. Functionally, that was only a $2 million roster bonus because it decreased each year he did not participate in 74.5 percent of the defensive snaps and reach the Pro Bowl. Harris only reached 74.5 percent of snaps once in his career before the second contract and before knee issues created durability issues.

If Harris had finished his contract with the Bears, it would have been a $31.965 million, four-year deal – meaning he would have averaged nearly $8 million per season. That's quite a difference from the $40 million, four-year extension that was originally advertised.

The top defensive tackles are shooting for $10 million averages now. For Melton, it’s going to be important to substantially increase the guaranteed money in his contract over what Harris received. In a four-year contract running back Matt Forte received last July before the deadline for franchise-tagged players, he received $17.1 million guaranteed.

Here is how the Harris deal broke down:

2008
$6.5 million signing bonus
$3.5 million roster bonus
$605,000 base salary

2009
$6.67 million roster bonus
$500,000 workout bonus
$620,000 base salary

2010
$2.5 million roster bonus
$500,000 workout bonus
$1.235 million base salary

2011
$2.5 million roster bonus
$500,000 workout bonus
$2,312,500 million base salary

2012
$8 million de-escalating roster bonus
$500,000 workout bonus
$2.5 million base salary

Melton likely would be pleased with a deal that averaged $10 million per season. But it’s all in how the numbers add up because sometimes a $10 million average isn’t really all that. There is no urgency for Melton to have a deal in place quickly, although the Bears would benefit from a multi-year contract that would potentially reduce his cap number and ensure his services for future seasons.




Chicago Bears news: Henry Melton will seek to better Tommie Harris' deal - chicagotribune.com