‘Everyone is a winner’ in Jennings deal
GM Buono signs young quarterback to three-season contract extension with large pay boost
Now that he’s signed a contract extension with the B.C. Lions through the 2018 season, it sounds like quarterback Jonathon Jennings is ready to have Wally Buono as his coach, general manager and possibly financial adviser for the next three seasons.
“No. No. Trying to save, man,” Jennings said when asked Thursday if he had a major purchase planned.
“I’m trying to be cheap like Wally.”
Buono, from the back of the room, shouted: “Frugal.”
Jennings continued: “That’s right. Frugal like Wally. Trying to save some money and build some riches.”
And do we need to get a realtor on the phone?
“I’m not purchasing any homes in Vancouver. It’s all way too expensive,” said Jennings.
Buono, we should report, was smiling the entire time.
The Lions’ boss did give Jennings, 23, a significant boost in pay. According to TSN’s Farhan Lalji, the pivot originally from Columbus, Ohio has a base salary of $150,000 this coming season, followed by $175,000 in 2017 and $300,000 in 2018. There’s also up to $60,000 in bonuses each season, according to Lalji.
Jennings made $52,000 as a rookie last year and was slated to make $55,000 this season and $57,000 in 2017 under the terms of his original deal.
Training camp starts May 29 in Kamloops. Jennings had signed on with Bardia Ghahremani, an agent based in Irvine, Calif., whose company represents several NFLers, to handle this renegotiation. Ghahremani was quoted in early March by Postmedia’s Mike Beamish as saying, “We need a new deal done when Jon goes to camp.”
Jennings said Thursday that he wouldn’t have been a training camp holdout, because that “would not have been good for anyone,” but he also added, “I’m glad there was a mutual respect,” leading to the agreement being reached.
Buono added: “We want camp to be about football. We don’t want camp to be about other things.”
Buono did lock up veteran quarterback Travis Lulay, 32, to a two-year deal in February, keeping him from entering the free-agent market. TSN 1040’s Lowell Ullrich has reported that Lulay is getting $225,000 per season, down from the $445,000 he received as a starter.
Jennings is expected to be the Lions’ starter this season, coming off his dynamic six-game stint running the offence in the regular season last year. He completed 66 per cent of his passes (142-of-215) for 2,004 yards, with 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
“The thing I believe we were able to do is put Jonathon in a position that he didn’t put pressure on us as far as the salary cap and yet he was able to be paid like a young starting quarterback,” said Buono. “At the end of it, I think the right thing to do was to put Jonathon in a better financial position. What we’re asking him to do is going to be big.
“To help him to feel good about his contract, for us to feel good about our future and to make sure that when we go to training camp the only focus is football ... I think everyone is a winner here.”