Update 7: Contracts

Today, Mr. Simms and I really focused on contracts and the legal side of his job.  He had just received the official contract for one of the players he represents, Devin Street, who was drafted in the 5^th round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys and will be a rookie next year.  He explained that all rookies that are drafted in the 5^th round essentially get the same contract, with the same base salary for their first four years in the league.  However, if you are drafted higher in the 5^th round, you get a slightly larger signing bonus.  The deal had just been finalized, meaning that Devin could receive his signing bonus of $200,000 right away.  One really important thing Mr. Simms has coming up is negotiating a new contract for Devin McCourty, safety for the New England Patriots.  He was a first round draft pick in the 2010 draft, and his rookie contract is about to finish.  He is one of the top 5 safeties in the league, and so it is Mr. Simms’ job to get him paid accordingly.  He had me do research on the contracts of similarly rated safeties in the league, because that is the main way he bases what he thinks Mr. McCourty should be paid into his negotiations with the Patriots.  The top safeties were paid in the range of $8-10 million a year, and so that what Mr. Simms ultimately hopes he can get for Devin McCourty.