How To Negotiate Julio Jones A New Falcons Deal

After the 2015 NFL Draft came to an end Saturday evening, Atlanta Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff is putting all of his attention on getting All-Pro WR Julio Jones signed to a longterm deal to stay in Atlanta.  Jones when healthy is one of the best deep threat wide receivers in the National Football League.  His steady hands and breakaway speed make him a favorite target of Falcons QB Matt Ryan.  But an injury shortened 2013 season will be a factor in negotiations between Dimitroff and Jones this offseason.

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Jones will make $10,176,000 in the last year of his rookie contract with the Atlanta Falcons.  It’s the second highest 2015 salary on the team behind only Matt Ryan $11,500,000.  Julio, 26, is in the prime of his NFL career and about to enter his fifth season in the league.  If he were to hit free agency, he could command Demaryius Thomas ($12,823,000) or even Calvin Johnson ($16,207,143) type of money.  It’s interesting that the NFL’s two highest paid receivers are both former Georgia Tech standouts.

If I were Thomas Dimitroff, I would offer Julio a five-year deal somewhere south of $14,ooo,ooo annually.  It wouldn’t really matter if the guaranteed money was back loaded into the new deal as Jones would only be 31 or 32 when that hypothetical contract expires.  He could then sign a two or three-year deal in 2021 and retire as a career Falcon in 2024 or so.

The most important aspect of negotiations for Dimitroff is to not ruffle Julio’s feathers by harping on the foot injury of 2013.  Instead he should focus on how Julio Jones can help the Falcons win playoff games for the next half decade.  Matt Ryan is already in the back half of his 2013 contract extension and Roddy White will likely retire in the next couple of years.  Outside of Desmond Trufant, who is only entering year three of his rookie deal, there isn’t any veteran Falcon on the defensive side of the ball that commands top dollar.  Dimitroff can afford to handsomely pay Julio Jones, just maybe not Calvin Johnson money.

I think Julio Jones will resign with the Falcons to a four-year deal worth $13,500,000 annually the evening before training camp starts.  From the clips I’ve seen of him with the media during the minicamp, Jones looks extremely eager to getting back to work and I don’t think either party wants to begin training camp without a new contract in place for Julio Jones.