Let’s Make a Deal: Eric Berry

Welcome to the third installment of Let’s Make a Deal. It seems as though the general consensus is positive towards this column, and I would really like to thank you all for the support and contributions.

Eric Berry is a very unique player. I feel as though his agent will strike gold for him when negotiating a contract. I had the opportunity this past week to catch up with Shawn Zobel of DraftHeadquarters.com. Shawn has had a higher percentage of predicted first round draft picks than Mel Kiper and Todd McShay for the past few years. Here is what Shawn had to say about Eric Berry:

These days, teams are looking for players with elite athleticism and players with tremendous instincts and intelligence. When you find a player who has both of them, you find an elite prospect, which is exactly what Eric Berry is. A tremendously talented player, Berry has the potential and upside to develop into the next star safety in the NFL. With the hitting ability of Troy Polamalu as well as the range and ballhawking ability of Ed Reed and Sean Taylor, Berry has all of the tools and skills needed to become an All-Pro at the next level.

Eric Berry, S, Tennessee

5’11”, 205 pounds

1^st round, 3^rd overall to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Requested Contract:

• 5 years/$35 million guaranteed ($7 million/year)
• Total contract amount = 5 years/$62 million (+8.06%)

Here are the contracts of players taken 3^rd overall in the years 2007, 2008, and 2009. The percentage increase/decrease from the previous year is shown and reflects the per year amounts.

• 2007 – Joe Thomas, OT, Wisconsin – 5 years/$42.5 million – $23 million guaranteed ($12.8 million signing bonus + $3 million 2^nd year roster bonus)
• 2008 – Matt Ryan, QB, Boston College – 6 years/$66 million (+29.41%) – $34.75 million guaranteed ($7.45 “log” bonus, $2.505 1^st year roster bonus)
• 2009 – Tyson Jackson, DE, LSU – 5 years/$57 million (+3.64%) – $31 million guaranteed

There were no safeties chosen in the 1^st round in 2009.

Listed are the safeties chosen in the 1^st round of the 2008 NFL Draft:

• Kenny Phillips, New York Giants (31^st) – 5 year/$11.15 million – $1.039 million guaranteed ($2.53 million signing bonus)

Listed are the safeties chosen in the 1^st round of the 2007 NFL Draft:

• LaRon Landry, Washington Redskins (6^th) – 5 years/$41.5 million – $17.5 million guaranteed
• Michael Griffin, Tennessee Titans (19^th) – 5 years/$11.5 million – $7.5 million guaranteed
• Reggie Nelson, Jacksonville Jaguars (21^st) – 5 years/$9.55 million – $7.1 million guaranteed
• Brandon Meriweather, New England Patriots (24^th) – 5 years/$8.75 million – $6 million guaranteed ($500,000 signing bonus, $3.72 million option bonus in 2^nd year)

Obviously, LaRon Landry is able to hold the top spot in almost all categories, because he played nearly double the games of the other safeties. Here is what my client’s statistics would look like if he and the other safeties played 52 games:

In order to get my requested contract amount, I found the sum of the average of the guaranteed contract amounts for the 3^rd overall slot selections and the safeties drafted in the first round.

As you can see above, my client’s statistics changed a bit in comparison to the others. However, the fact that Eric Berry has the most unassisted tackles and interceptions tells you something; it tells you that he is an individual playmaker. Although he does not have as many total tackles as the others, Eric has the most unassisted tackles, which really points out his clutch ability. My client has almost double the interceptions when compared to the other safeties; this is also a tribute to his big play ability. This kid is a superstar and needs to get on the field as quickly as possible!