The Jets want to keep veteran receiver Brandon Marshall happy.
As a result, they’ve given him a raise, Field Yates of ESPN reports.
Under Marshall’s old contract, which the Jets assumed when they acquired him in a trade with the Bears, he was due a maximum of $24.3 million over the next three years. Now Marshall could make as much as $26 million in the next three years. The Jets have also added $1.3 million in full guarantees to Marshall’s deal.
For 2015, Marshall has gone from a $7.5 million base salary and $200,000 workout bonus to a fully guaranteed $9 million base salary, with no workout bonus. Marshall is getting an even bigger raise in 2016, when he goes from a $7.9 million base salary to a $9.5 million base salary.
Marshall did, however, accept a pay cut from $8.3 million to $7.5 million on his 2017 base salary, perhaps an indication from both sides that by then Marshall will be in his mid-30s and not the same player.
Overall, this is a great deal for Marshall and a surprising move for the Jets, who could have simply told him that he was stuck playing for the contract he already signed. They obviously don’t want Marshall to become disgruntled, and they’re willing to spend some money to make sure he’s glad to be a Jet.