SunCityCarl
Hall of Famer
On a Friday that produced more than its share of big deals, the Tampa Bay Bucs and defensive end Simeon Rice combined to strike one of the largest contract agreements in NFL history, ESPN.com has learned.
The two sides completed agreement on a five-year contract that totals $41 million and includes an initial signing bonus and a spring 2004 option bonus that is worth a combined $20 million. The deal, negotiated by agent Tom Condon of IMG Football, breaks new ground on several fronts.
Tampa Bay then followed up the Rice deal by reaching agreement with starting middle linebacker Shelton Quarles on a five-year contract that is worth $19.5 million. As is the case with Rice, the quickness of Quarles, who moved from the strong side to the middle this year, is a key for the Bucs and a defense that was rated No. 1 in the league in 2002.
The deal with Rice makes him the first $8 million-a-year defender and the combined $20 million in signing and option bonus payments tops the record $19 million total that Baltimore Ravens middle linebacker Ray Lewis got last summer.
Significant to the Bucs is that the contract reduces Rice's cap number for 2003 and allows the franchise much-needed wiggle room. Tampa Bay had just $600,000 in available cap space before the agreement and the team has been forced to hold up contract signings until it could create some space.
Unrestricted free agent guard Jason Whittle, for instance, agreed to a six-year, $8.2 million contract on Wednesday. But the contract could not be officially executed because the Bucs lacked the cap space to cover it.
With the additional room, Tampa Bay was able on Friday to complete Whittle's contract. The team is pursuing free agent center John Wade as well.
Rice, 29, had two seasons remaining on his existing contract and those were restructured. The deal was then extended by three additional years to create a five-year contract.
Under his old contract, Rice would have had an exorbitant cap value of $6.1 million for 2003.
A seven-year veteran, Rice emerged as one of the NFL's most dominant defenders in 2002. The former Illinois star collected 15½ sacks, posted 75 tackles and also had six forced fumbles and 11 pass deflections. In the Super Bowl, he dominated Oakland Raiders left tackle Barry Sims and set an early tone for the game with a sack of Rich Gannon on the opening series.
For his career, Rice has 78 sacks, and is one of the few active players in the league to average 10 or more sacks a season. A first-round pick of Arizona in the 1996 draft, he signed with Tampa Bay as a free agent in 2001.
Quarles, 31, appeared in his first Pro Bowl game in 2002. While he is not one of the more heralded players on the Tampa Bay defense, his ability to track receivers deep down the middle of the field is a vital component in the Bucs' trademark "cover two" scheme.
The six-year veteran had 159 tackles, two interceptions and five passes defensed last season. Quarles had begun to attract interest from some other teams in the past few days and likely would have started to make visits if a new deal with the Bucs hadn't been completed by the weekend.
The two sides completed agreement on a five-year contract that totals $41 million and includes an initial signing bonus and a spring 2004 option bonus that is worth a combined $20 million. The deal, negotiated by agent Tom Condon of IMG Football, breaks new ground on several fronts.
Tampa Bay then followed up the Rice deal by reaching agreement with starting middle linebacker Shelton Quarles on a five-year contract that is worth $19.5 million. As is the case with Rice, the quickness of Quarles, who moved from the strong side to the middle this year, is a key for the Bucs and a defense that was rated No. 1 in the league in 2002.
The deal with Rice makes him the first $8 million-a-year defender and the combined $20 million in signing and option bonus payments tops the record $19 million total that Baltimore Ravens middle linebacker Ray Lewis got last summer.
Significant to the Bucs is that the contract reduces Rice's cap number for 2003 and allows the franchise much-needed wiggle room. Tampa Bay had just $600,000 in available cap space before the agreement and the team has been forced to hold up contract signings until it could create some space.
Unrestricted free agent guard Jason Whittle, for instance, agreed to a six-year, $8.2 million contract on Wednesday. But the contract could not be officially executed because the Bucs lacked the cap space to cover it.
With the additional room, Tampa Bay was able on Friday to complete Whittle's contract. The team is pursuing free agent center John Wade as well.
Rice, 29, had two seasons remaining on his existing contract and those were restructured. The deal was then extended by three additional years to create a five-year contract.
Under his old contract, Rice would have had an exorbitant cap value of $6.1 million for 2003.
A seven-year veteran, Rice emerged as one of the NFL's most dominant defenders in 2002. The former Illinois star collected 15½ sacks, posted 75 tackles and also had six forced fumbles and 11 pass deflections. In the Super Bowl, he dominated Oakland Raiders left tackle Barry Sims and set an early tone for the game with a sack of Rich Gannon on the opening series.
For his career, Rice has 78 sacks, and is one of the few active players in the league to average 10 or more sacks a season. A first-round pick of Arizona in the 1996 draft, he signed with Tampa Bay as a free agent in 2001.
Quarles, 31, appeared in his first Pro Bowl game in 2002. While he is not one of the more heralded players on the Tampa Bay defense, his ability to track receivers deep down the middle of the field is a vital component in the Bucs' trademark "cover two" scheme.
The six-year veteran had 159 tackles, two interceptions and five passes defensed last season. Quarles had begun to attract interest from some other teams in the past few days and likely would have started to make visits if a new deal with the Bucs hadn't been completed by the weekend.
