Lee offered 6 year, $7.1 million offer sheet

by Fooch on Mar 7, 2007 8:47 AM PST in News Comment 25 comments

John Clayton is reporting on his Insider blog that the Steelers gave Andy Lee a 6 year, $7.1 million offer sheet. There are apparently no poison pills in the deal and it will come down to how the team values Lee as a punter. Personally, I think he's been a great punter and might very well be worth it. I believe there was actually a game where Nolan gave him the game ball and a loss where was the team MVP of the game. Thoughts?

[EDITOR'S NOTE 10:45AM] - Thanks to Call It The Throw for pointing out John Clayton's article on free agencies early winners and losers. YOUR San Francisco 49ers top the winners list.

[EDITOR'S NOTE 2:25PM] - Matt Maiocco has definitive salary numbers for Banta-Cain. Banta-Cain will get a $2.9M signing bonus, with a $500,000 roster bonus and a $100,000 workout bonus this year. The deal is worth $9M over 3 years, but could reach $12.25M if he reaches some sack incentives.

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Maiocoo...

... also reports that that $7.1M offer includes a $1.66M signing bonus. By the end of the deal, Lee will be making well over $1M... punters in the NFL actually make that much?

Lee is a good, young punter that is still growing into the position. He's made great strides at improving not only the distance and accuracy of his kicks, but the consistency of them as well. It's hard to not try to retain him, really.

If the 49ers match the offer, do the Steelers get to make a new offer?

by sfgfan on Mar 7, 2007 9:29 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

matching

If the 49ers match the offersheet he has to resign with them because he's a restricted free agent. If he was unrestricted he could go back and forth to each team for more money, and we wouldn't get a draft pick back, unless we had franchised him.

Niners Nation - The premier 49ers blog on the Internet!

by Fooch on Mar 7, 2007 10:20 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Are there any good punters in the draft?

I would hesitate to match an offer like this for a punter, despite Lee's upside. Our FA offseason has been great, in my opinion, but enough is enough. Time to think draft.

by Call It The Throw on Mar 7, 2007 9:58 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Let 'em go

I agree. In a world where starting RBs are barely worth a 3rd round pick, essentially trading a punter for a 6th round pick seems like a steal.

by WeWantVD on Mar 7, 2007 10:06 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Agreed

If T.O. (even given his detrimental presence) was only worth an 8th round pick, we shouldn't hesitate in dumping Lee here.

Also, nice to see the Niners back on top (in something)...

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=clayton_john&id=2789661

by Call It The Throw on Mar 7, 2007 10:26 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

not everybody liked what we did

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/don_banks/03/06/liked.disliked/2.html

Bring back Eddie D.

by nostocksjustbonds on Mar 7, 2007 2:43 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

don banks is a douche

He put the Ashley Lelie signing ad like his 4th overall move that he didn't like. Lelie didn't get much of a contract so why would he even care about this move?
And he can argue what a "shut down" corner is but the term is relative. If its not wise to throw to Champ Bailey's side well than that makes him a "shut down" corner sure guys might get open occasionally but for the most part he is shutting down the guy lining up opposite of him.
And he can say what he wants about the Clements deal but we got the #2 free agent available in his prime and had the money to do it. I'd say whatever he got paid for writing this article should be considered stupid money.

by methodrampage on Mar 7, 2007 3:02 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I agree

I didn't post it as something I agreed with.

I think he's too quick to criticize the Lelie move. One could be critical if we signed Lelie to be our #1 receiver, but he wasn't. He may be our #1 Wr or our #1 deep threat, but VD is our #1 receiver and Gore is #2. Having Lelie will simply give us more options down the field, which is what he provides as a speedburner. Hell, he caught about 54 balls for over 1,084 yards and 7 TDs three years ago in Denver. that was a 20.1 yards per catch average, which is pretty damn good. There's no reason he won't be able to do close to that for us, though right now we're probably a more run-oriented offense. With Lelie, things will balance out a bit more. Anyway, you simply can't blame Lelie for having Mike Vick as a QB and not putting up big numbers.

Whether Thomas or Clements was the #1 FA or not is debatable, though not worth the effort. Bottom line: all things being equal, we got the younger guy and filled a huge need for us. Every team in the league would like to have signed Clements, asn we got him. Tow years ago we wouldn't have even thought about a guy like that. Today, it's a coup.

Bring back Eddie D.

by nostocksjustbonds on Mar 7, 2007 3:57 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I'll miss him

but I think it's too much. We could draft a guy in the sixth round who won't be all that much worse and pay him the league minimum. Too bad, because he's the best punter we've had in a long time. Spend the money of the place kicker if you're gonna spend it.

Bring back the classic Uni's!

by wjackalope on Mar 7, 2007 10:13 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

punters

they really aren't considered part of the team. let him go. we can get a cheaper replacement that won't be that different at all, except cheaper. hell, spend the 6th rounder we get on a new punter. problem solved.

We won 5 Super Bowls with some no-name punters like Max Runager and Barry Helton. We'll live. Save the $.

Bring back Eddie D.

by nostocksjustbonds on Mar 7, 2007 2:41 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

no-names

ok, they had names, but I had to look it up.

Bring back Eddie D.

by nostocksjustbonds on Mar 7, 2007 2:45 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I agree, sort of.

While punters are on the outskirts of being a part of the "team", they do play a vital role. A punter who can prevent his kicks from sailing into the endzone on a punt from around mid-field is a really vital asset.

That being said, I agree that they may be THE easiest position to find a "replacement-level" player for league-minimum.

by sfgfan on Mar 7, 2007 4:25 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

punters

It's a tough call really. But I agree that getting a 6th round pick could be quite valuable. Look at some of the talent that's been spotted that far down? Totally worth it.

Niners Nation - The premier 49ers blog on the Internet!

by Fooch on Mar 7, 2007 4:37 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

workout bonus?

what the heck is that?

Bring back Eddie D.

by nostocksjustbonds on Mar 7, 2007 2:45 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

If I'm not mistaken...

... its a bonus that the 49ers (and many other teams) provide to players who take part in their optional off-season workout session(s). I think Nolan has at least one of these set up, and some statute in the league/CBA rules prevent him from making it mandatory. Hence, "you show up, and we'll pay you".

by sfgfan on Mar 7, 2007 4:23 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

sounds like an incentive

it seems silly, but I suppose if the rules prohibit making offseason practices mandatory, then it makes sense. Thus, I simply can't imagine any player not showing up with an incentive like that, especially if they are married.

Bring back Eddie D.

by nostocksjustbonds on Mar 7, 2007 5:13 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I'd actually believe...

... that if a player is married, he'd be more likely to have a "valid" reason to skip out on those workouts. While it isn't necessarily always true, being married makes it more likely someone may be an expecting father during the offseason. Or say they're married AND have kids. Perhaps the work-out may run through their kids' (spring) vacation time, which would prevent the family from doing any family-oriented activities during that time.

It really depends on the player.

by sfgfan on Mar 8, 2007 8:42 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

or the

woman

by methodrampage on Mar 8, 2007 10:21 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

maybe

I just can't believe that any player's wife would allow him to skip out on a practice with an easy $100 grand to be made. I know my wife wouldn't.

Bring back Eddie D.

by nostocksjustbonds on Mar 8, 2007 11:37 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

$1M for a punter? No way.

Call me crazy, but I have to think you can get an adequate, cheap replacement from unsigned free agents or really low round draft picks. I mean, All-Pro Shane Lechler was a 5th round pick (and I think everyone laughed at Oakland for using a 5th rounder to draft a punter).

by War on Mar 7, 2007 3:55 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

and this is why the raiders suck

they draft guys like lechler and janikowski, have a great kicking game, and nothing else.

Bring back the classic Uni's!

by wjackalope on Mar 7, 2007 5:53 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

tradition of the Raiders

Everyone thinks it was Stabler and Belitnikof and the great OL and hard hitting thug defenders they had back in the glory days. WRONG! The key to past Raiders' greatness: Ray Guy.

But now you look at that offense, last in the league in yards and points and first in $$, and you can tell why they need to have an All-World Punter: THEY SUCK!

Bring back Eddie D.

by nostocksjustbonds on Mar 7, 2007 10:06 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Banta-Cain contract

These figures sound very good, I'd be very happy with paying him $12 million because he'll likely have performed very well.

by gatling on Mar 7, 2007 5:56 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

We're keeping Lee

according to Matt Maiocco:

But the 49ers are not going to let punter Andy Lee get away. The 49ers can thank the Steelers for doing the 49ers' work for them. The Steelers negotiated an unimpressive contract for Lee, who is a restricted free agent. As soon as the 49ers saw the offer sheet - six years, $7.1 million with $1.66 million to sign - they decided to match the deal to retain Lee. They will probably make it official as early as Thursday.

"Andy had a nice year for us. We like the development he had," 49ers vice president of player personnel Scot McCloughan said. "We look forward to having that type of player around. We identified guys when we got here and we see him as one of our guys."

Lee is planning to get married this weekend, so he'll have some nice spending money for his honeymoon.

Bring back Eddie D.

by nostocksjustbonds on Mar 7, 2007 11:14 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

This is a good thing.

I know there was some discussion above in this thread about whether or not Lee, or any punter, is worth this contract. I think he is, and I think it's pretty clear. Consider this: his million dollar salary will comprise approximately 1% of the 49ers total payroll in 2007. Even if the team signed a journeyman for a few hundred grand, they would only save about 0.5% of their cap room. Considering Lee's quality performance the last couple of years, I don't think that small savings is worth the risk that they can't find a quality punter.

"You gotta bring ass, to get ass." --EDDIE DeBARTOLO JR.

by Josh from Hollywood on Mar 7, 2007 11:49 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs