- Thread Author
- #1
- Joined
- Aug 6, 2011
- Messages
- 100,286
By Kyle Meinke
mlive.
Detroit Lions GM Martin Mayhew breaks down what went wrong with the Ndamukong Suh negotiations.
PHOENIX -- Martin Mayhew was optimistic the Detroit Lions would re-sign Ndamukong Suh.
That was true last year, when Detroit began negotiating an extension in late February. That was true last summer, when Detroit elected to table negotiations at the start of free agency. That was true in January, when Detroit resumed negotiations.
That was true around the start of the negotiating window in free agency, when Detroit offered Suh a $102 million deal that would have made him the highest-paid defensive player ever.
He was confident -- right up until the Sunday before the start of free agency, when president Tom Lewand sent him a text while he driving home from church.
Suh was headed to Miami.
The defensive tackle signed a landmark $114 million deal with the Dolphins -- $59.9 million of which is guaranteed, also a record. That has sent shockwaves through a Lions organization that believed their best defensive player would return.
Mayhew finally opened up Monday about what happened in Detroit's failed pursuit of the superstar defensive lineman.
"I think at every step throughout the process, we made a rational, thoughtful decision to move forward. And then I think it got to a point where, economically, in terms of building a sustainable, quality football team, it didn't make sense," Mayhew said over lunch during the NFL owners meetings at the Arizona Biltmore hotel.
"At that point, we declined to continue to offer more."
The Lions' offer was for about $2 million less in average annual salary, and $2 million less in overall guarantees, which doesn't seem like a lot within the context of a nine-figure deal. But Mayhew said the Lions simply couldn't budge without sacrificing their depth and talent elsewhere on the roster.
"There's a lot of different ways to give somebody $100 million, you know? So a lot of times structure comes into play, and all those things matter," he said. "I know we have some quality players on our team we probably couldn't keep if we had that deal in place."
The Lions could have ensured Suh's return for at least one season, plus given themselves more time to work out a long-term arrangement, had they used the franchise tag on Suh.
They said throughout the process they would consider using the tag if negotiations reached an impasse. But with the deadline looming, Detroit decided to holster the tag and its massive $26.9 million cap hit. (Not to mention the nearly $10 million in dead money that was already on the books.)
It was a move borne out of financial conservatism, as Detroit tries to get its cap management in order after a series of restructures made the payroll top heavy -- and ultimately led to Suh's exit.
"Ever since we did Matthew (Stafford's) contract, whenever that was, we've always been sort of top heavy with a few guys up there," Mayhew said. "The thing about the franchise tag, really, was continuing to kick the can down the road. (We would have had to) restructure deals to make that happen. And we want to get out of that situation at some point. So that didn't make a lot of sense."
The Lions made a series of decisions -- some would call them gaffes -- that paved the way for Suh's departure. That starts with twice restructuring his deal, which blew up the franchise tag number.
They could have negotiated through last season rather than table them. They could have offered him the same $102 million deal a lot sooner, improving their odds that Suh would accept it.
Woulda. Coulda. Shoulda.
The Lions could have done a lot of things differently, and Mayhew readily admits it. But at the same time he does not seem to regret any individual decision the Lions made -- only the eventual outcome they affected.
"There are probably 1,000 things I would do differently," he said. "But you make decisions in real time, with the information you have, and I feel good about every decision we made along the way.
"Anytime you lose a quality player like that, especially in the short term, that is to your detriment. In the long term, I think we're going to be glad we don't have that contract on our books."
mlive.
Detroit Lions GM Martin Mayhew breaks down what went wrong with the Ndamukong Suh negotiations.
PHOENIX -- Martin Mayhew was optimistic the Detroit Lions would re-sign Ndamukong Suh.
That was true last year, when Detroit began negotiating an extension in late February. That was true last summer, when Detroit elected to table negotiations at the start of free agency. That was true in January, when Detroit resumed negotiations.
That was true around the start of the negotiating window in free agency, when Detroit offered Suh a $102 million deal that would have made him the highest-paid defensive player ever.
He was confident -- right up until the Sunday before the start of free agency, when president Tom Lewand sent him a text while he driving home from church.
Suh was headed to Miami.
The defensive tackle signed a landmark $114 million deal with the Dolphins -- $59.9 million of which is guaranteed, also a record. That has sent shockwaves through a Lions organization that believed their best defensive player would return.
Mayhew finally opened up Monday about what happened in Detroit's failed pursuit of the superstar defensive lineman.
"I think at every step throughout the process, we made a rational, thoughtful decision to move forward. And then I think it got to a point where, economically, in terms of building a sustainable, quality football team, it didn't make sense," Mayhew said over lunch during the NFL owners meetings at the Arizona Biltmore hotel.
"At that point, we declined to continue to offer more."
The Lions' offer was for about $2 million less in average annual salary, and $2 million less in overall guarantees, which doesn't seem like a lot within the context of a nine-figure deal. But Mayhew said the Lions simply couldn't budge without sacrificing their depth and talent elsewhere on the roster.
"There's a lot of different ways to give somebody $100 million, you know? So a lot of times structure comes into play, and all those things matter," he said. "I know we have some quality players on our team we probably couldn't keep if we had that deal in place."
The Lions could have ensured Suh's return for at least one season, plus given themselves more time to work out a long-term arrangement, had they used the franchise tag on Suh.
They said throughout the process they would consider using the tag if negotiations reached an impasse. But with the deadline looming, Detroit decided to holster the tag and its massive $26.9 million cap hit. (Not to mention the nearly $10 million in dead money that was already on the books.)
It was a move borne out of financial conservatism, as Detroit tries to get its cap management in order after a series of restructures made the payroll top heavy -- and ultimately led to Suh's exit.
"Ever since we did Matthew (Stafford's) contract, whenever that was, we've always been sort of top heavy with a few guys up there," Mayhew said. "The thing about the franchise tag, really, was continuing to kick the can down the road. (We would have had to) restructure deals to make that happen. And we want to get out of that situation at some point. So that didn't make a lot of sense."
The Lions made a series of decisions -- some would call them gaffes -- that paved the way for Suh's departure. That starts with twice restructuring his deal, which blew up the franchise tag number.
They could have negotiated through last season rather than table them. They could have offered him the same $102 million deal a lot sooner, improving their odds that Suh would accept it.
Woulda. Coulda. Shoulda.
The Lions could have done a lot of things differently, and Mayhew readily admits it. But at the same time he does not seem to regret any individual decision the Lions made -- only the eventual outcome they affected.
"There are probably 1,000 things I would do differently," he said. "But you make decisions in real time, with the information you have, and I feel good about every decision we made along the way.
"Anytime you lose a quality player like that, especially in the short term, that is to your detriment. In the long term, I think we're going to be glad we don't have that contract on our books."
