The Kansas City Chiefs put no interest in the risk of Eric Berry and the free agency market, with a new deal announced on Tuesday that will make their defensive leader the highest-paid safety in the league. General manager John Dorsey performing his biggest task on his list of offseason duties to work out a longterm deal that could allow Berry to retire with the Chiefs if all goes well over the course of a six-year contract.
Berry will make $78 million on the contract per the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport with $40 million in guarantees to ensure that the safety is highly paid for the final half of his career. To become the highest-paid safety in the league is also a further accomplishment from a dream comeback to football from Berry, who had a brief hiatus from the game with health concerns before two seasons where he was one of the best safeties in football.
What does this deal mean for Berry and the Chiefs along with the rest of the league? Following are some immediate thoughts on the richest safety deal in the history of the NFL:
Thought #1: Eric Berry thoroughly deserves this contract
If any player in the league was to become the highest paid at their position, it is a safe bet that most would want it to be Eric Berry. Berry has earned respect for his play on the field for the Chiefs and his battle back from cancer to return to the field was one of the league’s most heartwarming stories in recent years.
Berry was also one of the top eligible defensive backs in free agency this offseason, so he already deserved this deal before you factor in the outside narratives and the respect he commands off the field. The Chiefs also fully know Berry’s value after his turnovers, and big plays were the key factor in their win of the AFC West crown this past season. It is an eye-popping amount of money for any player to earn, but there will be few initial naysayers when it comes to whether or not Berry deserves this contract. With $40 million in guarantees, Berry will also be a rich man even if he doesn’t reach the end of his new deal.
Thought #2: The Chiefs are growing a reputation for paying their vets
Berry’s deal is another in a long line of contract upgrades for the key veteran pieces of this current Chiefs era. Justin Houston and Tamba Hali have both been given extensions by Kansas City on defense for considerable money while Alex Smith received a handsome extension of his own worth $68 million over four years back in 2014. That history of the Chiefs front office and extensions made it no surprise when it was announced that Berry would also receive a similar reward for his services to the Chiefs.
With how good the Chiefs have played over the course of the Andy Reid era, there is no reason for them not to pay to keep the band together while the wins continue to pile up. It is the safest plan to maintain the momentum in Kansas City to pay whatever price to retain this nucleus, and if you are a veteran on the Chiefs, you have to love the payday to continue the Super Bowl hunt.
Thought #3: Dontari Poe appears to be the odd man out
While the Chiefs have a reputation for paying the price to retain their core, the reality of a salary cap means exceptions need to be made to make way for pay upgrades elsewhere. In the case of the Eric Berry deal, those exceptions and cost-cutting measures appear to be releasing running back Jamaal Charles and allowing defensive tackle Dontari Poe to test the open market in free agency.
There might be an opportunity for the Chiefs to sneak just enough cap space to fit Poe in via the franchise tag for one more season, but at this present juncture, the belief is that the defensive tackle will be forced to walk. A move from the Chiefs that is a risk and splits up a dangerous unit of Poe, Justin Houston and Tamba Hali that had plenty of chemistry together.
General manager John Dorsey will pull out all the stops possible to keep Poe around, but with the aforementioned raises to other veterans on the roster, it will be hard to fit everyone in forever. The Chiefs might need to recycle at the interior position on the defensive line to allow for Berry, which could lead to regression in the trenches if they can’t replace Poe through the draft or a free agency downgrade.
Thought #4: We aren’t done watching safeties get big deals in March
With Berry now holding onto a $78 million contract, the peak of the safety market has set for a list of talented unrestricted free agents who will be available come March 9. Namely Tony Jefferson of the Arizona Cardinals and Jonathan Cyprien of the Jacksonville Jaguars, who both posted higher PFF grades than Berry in 2016 and will want to command similar money.
Both Jefferson and Cyprien will have a chance to chase Berry’s record-setting deal when their agents sit down at the negotiating table with general managers due to their similar production to Berry’s 2016 season. Jefferson may have the best odds of resetting the record for highest paid safety after his breakout year for the Cards, a realistic possibility with a handful of teams likely to have over $50 million in cap space for free agents this March.
This safety market has talent all over the place and now that Berry has a deal worth around $13 million per season the market is now out there for safeties to finally get the type of attention usually reserved for cornerbacks this offseason. Several safeties will get big contracts this season as Berry is just the start of what will be a boom period for high spending at the position via free agency.
