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After Ron Parker hit the market and the Kansas City Chiefs signed free agent safety Tyvon Branch, I did not think Parker was coming back. He reportedly visited Chicago and there were rumors of plenty of teams interested in him. I was starting to accept that Parker wouldn't be back.
Then there I was on Saturday afternoon, celebrating our old pal St. Patrick at my local bar when the news came down. Parker is back in Kansas City to the tune of five years, $30 million.
The Chiefs confirmed the move on Monday morning.
"I am happy we were able to work out a deal with Ron and his agent to keep him in Kansas City," Chiefs GM John Dorsey said in a statement. "He is a versatile player with a great attitude that's made a positive impact on both defense and special teams. Right from the beginning of this process, we wanted Ron back in a Chiefs uniform."
The details are important as they always are in NFL contracts. That's because there is no loyalty and an NFL team will cut you if it makes financial sense for them. For Parker, here are the details:
Ron Parker five-year, $30M deal, $8M gtd, $5M bonus, salaries $750K, $1.9M, $3.9M, $5.65M, $6.15M, annual $100,000 workout bonus
— Aaron Wilson (@RavensInsider) March 15, 2015
Without the fluff in Parker's deal: incentives ($5M), final 2 years base ($11.8M) & final 2 years of bonus (700K). It's 3yrs/$12.5M .
— Nick Jacobs (@Jacobs71) March 15, 2015
The initial numbers were a little surprising to me but this looks pretty reasonable for both sides. The Chiefs get a safety they liked enough to start when Eric Berry went down and helped push the team to one of the best pass defenses in football. Parker, an undrafted free agent who had been cut eight times in his career, gets paid. With the salary cap going up each year, the final years of Parker's deal could still be a fine situation for both sides if he is playing at a level that helps the team. Considering where Parker came from, getting picked up by the Chiefs off the waiver wire two years ago, this is a pretty cool story.