He certainly is in the hot seat, isn't he? Is everyone in Seattle down on him?
Look at this..what is enough? This type of ridiculous pay will ruin the NFL.
Peppers gets deal in time to start camp
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Julius Peppers, expected to be the cornerstone of the Carolina Panthers' rebuilding effort, is now the highest paid player in franchise history.
Peppers, the second overall pick in this year's NFL draft, agreed to terms on a seven-year contract that could be worth more than $50 million if incentives kick in, a league source said Tuesday.
The deal, agreed to on Monday, tops Carolina's previous highest contract -- a seven-year, $46.5 million deal given to defensive tackle Sean Gilbert in 1998.
The agreement came days before Peppers reports to his first NFL training camp. The Panthers open camp Friday and new coach John Fox wanted the defensive end there at the start as Fox attempts to rebuild Carolina after last year's 1-15 season.
"Julius is a player we are obviously counting on and it is important for him as well as all the new players to be in training camp because the learning proceeds at an accelerated pace,'' Fox said. "We were very pleased with Julius in the mini-camps and are excited about working with him at camp.''
When Peppers signs the deal later this week, he's expected to receive a $13 million signing bonus.
An All-American at North Carolina, Peppers is expected to start at left defensive end for the Panthers.
Peppers played three seasons for the Tar Heels and ranked second in school history with 30.5 sacks. As a sophomore in 2000, he led the nation with 15 sacks -- just one shy of Lawrence Taylor's school record set in 1980.
Last year he had 63 tackles, 9.5 sacks and three interceptions while winning the Bednarik and Lombardi Awards as the nation's top lineman.
The Panthers have yet to reach deals with running back DeShaun Foster, drafted second, and quarterback Randy Fasani, the fifth-round pick. Both are expected to come to terms before the start of camp, but Fasani is closer to agreeing on something than Foster is. |
