It’s the nitty-gritty details that seem to be holding up Quinnen Williams’ rookie contract.
According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Jets and Williams have not come to an agreement because the Jets’ latest offer has a bonus payment schedule that would cost Williams $100,000. Additionally, Pelissero said that this offer was made weeks ago and it is unknown if the Jets have made any other offers.
The Jets are offering Williams a lower percentage of the signing bonus in the first year of the contract than all but one of the players who have been signed in the top 10 of the draft. It’s also a lower percentage of the signing bonus in Year 1 than any of the Jets’ top-10 draft picks dating back to 2011.
The problem with that is Williams is currently a resident of the state of Alabama and has yet to move to New Jersey. Due to the higher tax rate in New Jersey, if Williams were to accept the Jets’ offer, it’d cost him $100,000.
Williams is still set to receive a signing bonus upwards of $21 million in his contract, but $100,000 is a lot of money for a 21-year-old rookie. He shouldn’t have to lose money because he has to move to a different state.
From the Jets’ perspective, they want to save as much money as they can when it comes to contracts. But at the same time is it really worth it to fight over $100,000? It’s not like the Jets have a tight budget or anything. They make plenty of money.
It’s simple: Just give Williams his money so he can get out on the practice field with the rest of his teammates and get ready for the season. If Williams is the player everyone expects him to be, $100,000 is not something worth fighting over.
