For rookies Tony Moeaki, Kendrick Lewis and Cameron Sheffield, the Chiefs made a curious move that raised some eyebrows in league circles: Those draft picks were given guaranteed roster bonuses instead of signing bonuses, which was a tad unusual.
There's essentially no difference between the two in this scenario but it was a move that one league insider called "a creative move by [Scott] Pioli" and made others (including myself) wonder what they were doing.
The truth is that doing the guaranteed roster bonus for those guys was done for tax purposes. Apparently -- and I'm not well versed in the details -- they were able to save some cash down the line. It made no difference to the team or the player, so why not?
With the Chiefs second round picks, they reverted back to signing bonuses. I got my hands on the details for McCluster and Arenas:
McCluster got a four-year deal worth $5.15 million.
$3.15 million of that is guaranteed including a $2.24 million signing bonus and a one-time $910,000 bonus. He's also got a $210,000 bonus due in 2013.
Arenas also got a four-year deal worth $3.798 million.
$1.993 million of that is guaranteed including a $1.435 signing bonus and a one-time $558,416 bonus. He's also got a $15,0000 bonus in 2013.
I've heard the Jon Asamoah details thrown around and, while I don't have the full rundown, I do know the total value is $2.702 million with a $912,000 signing bonus. I would say I'll dig for the details and report back but, frankly, I don't think anyone really cares to get that deep into it.