JETS’ FITZ-PACT-TRICK
OFFER: $12M IN YEAR 1, BUT ONLY $6M IN YEARS 2 AND 3
The full picture of the contract offer from the Jets to free-agent quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick is beginning to come into focus.
The team offered him a threeyear, $24 million deal, a source confirmed Sunday. Fitzpatrick would get paid $12 million in 2016 but only $6 million in 2017 and $6 million in 2018 unless he hit incentives that could drive the total value up to $36 million.
The compensation in the second and third years is likely the sticking point in negotiations. The Jets’ offer of $12 million in the first year would seem to be fair and something Fitzpatrick would agree to, but the 33-year-old quarterback most likely is unhappy with the fi- nal two years of the deal. If he has a strong 2016, the Jets then have him locked in at $6 million in 2017, or if he loses the starting job in 2016, the Jets could hold onto him for less money than he might be able to make elsewhere.
The annual average value of $8 million per year is well below what most starting quarterbacks make, and in line with what has been reported since March. It would rank 23rd in the NFL, according to the website Spotrac, just above Robert Griffin III with the Browns and below the Rams’ Nick Foles.
For the Jets, their negotiating position is buoyed by the fact Fitzpatrick has not drawn interest from any other teams after being on the market for close to three months now. The team views Fitz- patrick as a short-term answer at quarterback, one they may want to move on from in 2017 if they feel Christian Hackenberg or Bryce Petty is ready to take over the starting job.
It is not known how much of the contract is guaranteed, but it probably is just the first year. A second-year guarantee might kick in if Fitzpatrick is on the roster on a certain date, making it easy for the Jets to cut him loose before that date if they are ready to move on.
The two sides have been unable to find middle ground, and negotiations have been practically nonexistent in recent weeks. At the moment, Geno Smith is the Jets’ starting quarterback with Petty and Hackenberg competing to be his backup. Some view it as the worst quarterback situation in the NFL. If it is not the worst, it is right near the bottom.
Fitzpatrick led the Jets to a 10-6 record after taking over for Smith, who had his jaw broken in a locker-room fight in training camp prior to last season. Fitzpatrick threw a team-record 31 touchdown passes and developed great chemistry with wide receivers Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker, who have both campaigned for the team to bring Fitzpatrick back. The season did not end well for Fitzpatrick, though, when he threw three interceptions in a loss to the Bills in the season finale. The loss kept the Jets out of the playoffs for the fifth straight season. Fitzpatrick never has been to the playoffs.