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UPDATE: 2:17 p.m. Arrowhead Time
The Chiefs make the Clark trade official, via their official Twitter account, with statements from Andy Reid and Brett Veach.
RT to OFFICIALLY welcome @TheRealFrankC_ to #ChiefsKingdom! pic.twitter.com/4TnrLnDF8P
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) April 25, 2019
VEACH: “We were able to reach an agreement with the Seahawks that we felt was mutually beneficial. I’d like to thank Frank’s agent, Erik Burkhardt, and his team for their effort in making this happen. We believe Frank is a premier player in this league and an elite pass rusher. In his four seasons in Seattle, he established himself as a leader in the locker room, and we’re looking forward to bringing him here to help our defense.”
REID: “We’re happy to add Frank to our team. Competing against him and watching his film, you can see how physical and impressive he is in both the run and the pass game. He’s young and has consistently played at a high level since he entered the league. Congrats to Brett and his team, as well as Frank’s representatives on getting this deal done.”
The Chiefs will welcome Clark to the team in a press conference beginning at 2:30 p.m. Arrowhead Time on Friday.
On Wednesday, more details about the trade the Kansas City Chiefs made to acquire Seattle Seahawks defensive Frank Clark emerged. We now have an initial read on the details of the contract the Chiefs negotiated with Clark after making the trade with Seattle.
In a series of tweets, friend-of-the-site Terez Paylor laid out the details.
Clark's deal is worth $104 million over 5 years.
— Terez A. Paylor (@TerezPaylor) April 24, 2019
He has base salaries of $805k in 2019, $24m in 2020, $18.5m in 2021, $19m in 2022 and $20.5m in 2023
Initially reported as a $105.5 million deal — just eclipsing the reported $105 million contract for Dallas Cowboys defensive end Demarcus Lawrence — it is actually a $104 million contract that includes $1.5 million in incentives. Paylor reported that Clark has a $300K incentive that is triggered by 11.5 sacks in each of the five years of the contract.
Since Clark has 22 sacks in the last two seasons, these bonuses are probably going to be considered as likely to be earned for salary cap purposes.
Based on the information Paylor provided, here’s what the contract looks like:
Frank Clark Contract
Year | Base | SgnBonus | Workout | Incentives | CapHit | Dead | Savings |
2019 | $805K* | $3.8M | $195K | $300K | $5.1M | $43.8M | -$38.7M |
2020 | $24.0M* | $3.8M | $500K | $300K | $28.6M | $39.2M | -$10.6M |
2021 | $18.5M* | $3.8M | $500K | $300K | $23.1M | $29.9M | -$6.8M |
2022 | $19.0M | $3.8M | $500K | $300K | $23.6M | $7.6M | $16M |
2023 | $20.5M | $3.8M | $500K | $300K | $25.1M | $3.8M | $21.3M |
*gtd | $82.8M | $19M* | $2.2M | $1.5M | $105.5M |
This deal has several features similar to other contracts Chiefs general manager Brett Veach has negotiated thus far. The signing bonus is relatively low, and the guaranteed money is all in the first three years of the five-year contract; Clark could be cut after the 2021 season, leaving just $7.6 million in dead money and $37 million in cap savings over the last two years of the deal.
There is also a hefty workout bonus in each year of the contract — another hallmark of a Veach contract.
To be sure, Frank Clark will be an expensive player for the Chiefs. But for such a contract, it is structured in pretty favorable terms for the team.