Cards, Fitzgerald agree to $40M deal; leads to Boldin wanting raise

[.GR]

Two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald signed a $40 million, four-year contract with the Arizona Cardinals on Tuesday just before leaving on a South American vacation he surely can afford.
The deal includes $30 million guaranteed, a generous figure for a franchise that was long considered one of the stingiest in sports.
"This is what I wanted to happen," he said on a conference call during an airport layover. "There was a great deal of dialogue through this whole process and everybody got what they wanted."
The Cardinals wanted to restructure Fitzgerald's incentive-laden rookie contract because he had reached many of the benchmarks and was to receive $14.6 million in 2008 and just under $17.4 million in 2009.
Those figures left the Cardinals with hardly any room under the salary cap to sign free agents. In addition, the contract locks up Fitzgerald through 2011, when he still will be only 28 years old.

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[AirForceFlash_3]

This is great for the Cards, they end the trade rumors and get him at a discount, well...more like less expensive then he was before, he would've killed their cap if they didn't do this.

But, it has lead to Boldin wanting an extension as well, if not, a trade could be coming:

With Larry Fitzgerald having completed his four-year, $40 million deal, Anquan Boldin now makes three to four times less annually than Fitzgerald.
We haven't seen Fitzgerald's salaries yet, but Boldin's is only $2.5 million in 2008. NFL Network's Adam Schefter believes the same teams that targeted Fitz in trades could now pursue Boldin. He hints at the Cowboys, Redskins, and Eagles as possibilities. Q would fit terrifically in a West Coast offense.

But a contradictory statement suggests...:

The Arizona Republic's Kent Somers does not believe WR Anquan Boldin will be traded.
Somers speaks glowingly about Boldin, calling him the "soul of the team" and more of a leader than Larry Fitzgerald. When the Cardinals speak to college scouts, they hold up Boldin as the ideal template for players they want. Regardless of trade possibilities, agent Drew Rosenhaus will want a new deal.

Both from Rotworld

IMO, their WR's are a huge luxury, but it is amazing to see these 2 out at receiver and would really help Leinart. If they can sign Boldin at a contract that wouldn't hurt their cap much, then they should. If not, they could always re-sign Bryant Johnson/draft a WR and trade Boldin for other things (like a CB or pick). They could go many ways, but, they'll probably keep both their WR's.

 

[bulls12]

young man's makin' some moolah!
I'd rather see him somewhere else than boring Arizona, but it was obviously smart of them to re-sign him.