Better late than never, right? With the NFL’s preseason nearly completed, the San Diego Chargers have finally come to terms with their top draft pick, defensive end Joey Bosa of Ohio State.
The Chargers announced Bosa has been signed to a four-year contract. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, Bosa will be paid $25.8 million over the course of the four-year deal, and he also will receive a $17 million signing bonus, guaranteed. Rapoport notes it is the largest upfront signing bonus installment paid by the Chargers in franchise history.
Given how contentious the negotiations seemed to get at times, it stands to reason the Chargers needed to come through with the guaranteed signing bonus in a big way. It worked.
The #Chargers and Joey Bosa reached a 4-year, $25.8M contract, source said. He gets a $17M signing bonus. It's all fully guaranteed.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 29, 2016
Bosa was chosen by the Chargers with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, immediately after the Los Angeles Rams (Jared Goff) and Philadelphia Eagles (Carson Wentz) took quarterbacks. The standout defensive lineman at Ohio State made the decision to leave for the NFL early expecting to be one of the top draft picks, which he certainly was. It just took a little longer than he may have expected to get his contract finalized.
He’s not alone. Bosa waited longer than any top-three pick has had to wait for a contract since JaMarcus Russell in 2007.
The @Chargers and Joey Bosa agree to 4-year deal.
It's the latest date a Top-3 pick has signed since JaMarcus Russell in 2007 (Sept. 12)
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) August 29, 2016
As the contract dispute went on, the Chargers more and more often became the laughing stock of the NFL. It was deserved after slinging mud at Bosa in a public manner rarely seen in the NFL. Things got so bad for the Chargers, Bosa’s mom said she wished they had gone the Eli Manning route.
Now the contract dispute is a thing of the past, and Bosa can focus on getting on the field as quickly as he can. Exactly when Bosa gets on the field now remains to be seen after missing all of training camp and the bulk of the preseason work load. The season starts next week.
Perhaps Bosa can slide in rather quickly, but as talented as he is this is still a significant jump from Ohio State to the NFL. Maybe the pent up frustration will lead to Bosa exploding on the NFL. The Chargers can only hope that is the case.
Maybe that was the plan all along? Nah, who are we kidding. The Chargers totally mishandled this one.
[Chargers]
