Inside Calais Campbell's Cardinals contract

Late last week, the Arizona Cardinals and franchised defensive end Calais Campbell to agreed on a five-year, $55 million contract that included a reported $31 million in guaranteed money.

Through a league source, Around the League has gotten a look inside the contract and can report the following details:

Campbell received a $15 million signing bonus, which will be prorated over the next five seasons, and will earn $2 million in fully guaranteed base salary in 2012. Campbell would have counted $10.605 million against the cap had he played out the season under the franchise tag. The new deal lowers his cap number to $5 million, a 2012 cap savings of $5.605 million.

Campbell is due $13 million in base salary in 2013, which is currently guaranteed for injury only and will become fully guaranteed if he is on the roster on the third day of the 2013 waiver period, which begins on the day after the Super Bowl. The Cardinals may (and in all likelihood will with the salary cap expected to remain flat) exercise a $10 million option bonus, which would reduce Campbell's 2013 base salary to a fully guaranteed $3 million. Along with a $250,000 workout bonus, Campbell will make $13.25 million in cash in 2013, a more than $500,000 increase over the $12.726 million it would have cost the Cardinals had they not reached an extension and were forced to use the franchise tag on Campbell for a second time.

After the expected exercising of the option bonus, Campbell's 2013 cap number will be $8.75 million.

In 2014, Campbell is due $5.5 million in base salary, of which $1 million is currently guaranteed for injury only and will become fully guaranteed if he is on the roster on the third day of the 2014 waiver period, which begins on the day after the Super Bowl. Campbell has base salaries of $9 million in 2015 and $9.5 million in 2016, with $250,000 workout bonuses available in 2014-16. Campbell's cap numbers over the final three years of the contract come in at $11.25 million (2014), $14.75 million (2015) and $15.25 million (2016).

A 2008 second-round pick out of Miami, the 6-foot-8, 300-pound Campbell has 180 tackles, 21 sacks and 18 passes defensed as a full-time starter over the last three seasons.


(nfl.com)