Elvis Dumervil May Command Cash to Stay With the Denver Broncos

By Craig Moir
Ron Chenoy-USA Today Sports

The Denver Broncos have gone on record stating that they have offered All-Pro defensive end Elvis Dumervil another contract today. Now we will just have to see if Dumervil does indeed want to remain with the prohibitive favorites to win Super Bowl XLVIII.

Although executive vice president of football operations John Elway did not disclose the terms of their offer, it can be assumed that the base salary will not be near the $8 million deal that was left on the table Friday when “fax-gate” occurred. That was when Dumervil’s then-agent Marty Magid failed to send the Broncos the properly signed documents in time to get them to the NFL office.

We all know that story by now, but there is more than meets the eye with this new offer by the Broncos. Because of that gaffe in paperwork, there were also salary cap implications that hinder Elway from duplicating the deal they had on Friday. As of Tuesday afternoon, the Broncos were hit with dead money for the release of both Dumervil and LB D.J. Williams that have counted about $7 million against the cap for 2013.

So where does that leave the Broncos? Well simply, they must come off some cash in order to keep Dumervil and his 63.5 sacks in the orange and blue. The Baltimore Ravens are trying to save face with their recent exodus of key players from their team, and would be able to offer Dumervil a contract similar to the one he would have received from Denver last week.

The one thing the Broncos have is cash, and that could be parlayed into a signing bonus with possibly extra years added to the contract in order to save money against their salary cap.

Mike Klis of the Denver Post had a nice spin on what the Broncos could do to keep Dumervil:

“The revised contract Dumervil and the Broncos had agreed upon at 1:25 p.m. Friday was for three years with a 2013 payout of $8 million. But let’s split that $8 million into a $5 million bonus and $3 million salary, while also extending the contract from three to five years. Only $1 million of the signing bonus, plus the $3 million in salary, for $4 million total, would count against the Broncos’ salary cap for 2013.”

This would be a crafty way to keep a premier pass rusher and not have to look for a guy like Dwight Freeney, John Abraham or Osi Umenyora, who are all in their thirties and on the downside of their careers.

I am sure that the Broncos will utilize their ability to pay the bonus, and from there it will be up to Dumervil to decide. In this day of players wanting security and teams not necessarily showing loyalty, the next few days will say a lot as to the state of affairs between the Broncos and Dumervil.

Let’s hope this situation can be resolved quickly and amicably, with both sides realizing they would be much better together than going their separate ways.

Rant” your thoughts on the Dumervil situation below and if you think the Broncos will be able to retain their All-Pro end.

 

Craig Moir is a Denver Broncos writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @cmoir727. “Like” him on Facebook at CraigMoirRants and add him to your network on Google+

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