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Titans' offer may have been superior
Posted: Thursday February 17, 2000 11:45 AM
When you look at the teams that are signing the big-name free agents like Bruce Smith, James Stewart and Joey Galloway, they have one thing in common: they have a lot of cap space available to sign players. Take the case of Jon Runyan. He's an all-pro offensive tackle, 26 years old, who played with the AFC champion Tennessee Titans. The Titans have about $5 million in cap space -- not an easy feat for a Super Bowl team. The Titans offered Runyan about $27 million for six years. That would have made him the third- or fourth-highest-paid Titan and one of the top-paid right tackles in the NFL. But Runyan decided to leave the AFC Champions for the 5-11 Eagles. Philadelphia, with even more cap room than Tennessee, got Runyan with a $30 million offer for six years -- even though less of the money is upfront. Over the course of the next six years, Runyan will only take home $1.5 million extra from the Eagles, and it may be even less when you consider the playoff money he'd have been more likely to earn with a good young Titans team. Personally, I would have recommended Runyan sign a four-year deal with the Titans, staying in the AFC where he has already been voted to the Pro Bowl by his peers. He would hit free agency again at the age of 30, not 32 as he will under his new deal with Philadelphia. Only time will tell what the best deal' was for Jon Runyan. But for now he's a great pickup for the Eagles and a great example of what's going on in the NFL today. Pat Kirwan, who spent 12 years in the NFL as a coach, scout and personnel administrator, is an NFL analyst for CNN/Sports Illustrated. The opinions expressed here are those of the writer.
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