Quote Originally Posted by 2014olympicgold View Post
So, Werenski needs to have a qualifying offer at the end of this deal right? QO has to be 100% of what the players salary is if they make over 1mill in salary. Werenski's base salary at the final yr of his deal is 7mill. So if he's extended just a QO, he'll get 7mill.
exactly...similar to Meier's contract. Smart move, I feel.

Clifford mentioned in the Ramblings today that Werenski potentially left millions on the table by signing this contract. I disagree. This contract guarantees Werenski a contract with at least a $8 million AAV when this one is over. If you count the two contracts combined, Werenski will be ahead in the end. He might have been able to get $7 million on an 8 year deal right now, so $$56 million total. Instead, he took the shorter term now, earning $25 million on a 3-year contract. When that is up, he could sign a 5 year, $40 million deal. If that happens, the total of the two contracts will be $65 million, so he'd be better off financially. I also think there's a chance his next contract might be even higher than $8 million AAV, depending on inflation and how he performs over the next three years. He could be earning $9 or $10 million a year.

Of course this requires Werenski to continue developing, but I like that Werenski bet on himself here. I'd love to see more RFAs do what Werenski and Meier have done.