Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports via Twitter that contract talks between the Pittsburgh Steelers and wide receiver Mike Wallace on a new long term deal have reopened and that the two sides will continue talking this week.
La Canfora thinks the odds are slim right now of a new deal being reached prior to the Steelers opener in Denver one week from Sunday.
None of this is surprising right now, as Steelers General Manager Kevin Colbert stated all along that talks would resume once Wallace reported and signed his one-year, $2.74 million tender, which he did this past week.
The sticking point, like all contracts, is the money, and specifically the guaranteed amount more than likely. La Canfora states that Wallace is fixated on an $11 million per season average of the total value. That would put a 5 year deal totaling out at $55 million.
Wallace, however, has never mentioned anything about the money that he is seeking, nor has his agent Bus Cook. This is likely just La Canfora speculating in my opinion.
La Canfora does point out the threat of the franchise tag that the Steelers have at their disposal, and that is something I have talked about for some time now. Essentially if Wallace does not agree to a new deal prior to the start of the season, he faces a possibility that he could only earn $12.74 million in total over the next two seasons. That is if indeed the Steelers choose to franchise him, which is unlikely to ultimately happen, but also not out of the question.
Wallace needs to think long and hard if that is a risk he is willing to take, and if not, he might be willing to accept a five-year deal between $45-50 million. That deal would likely include a signing bonus of around $15-18 million and possibly a second year option bonus of around $5-7 million.
While La Canfora thinks the odds are slim a deal gets done, I wouldn\’t shut the door just yet on the possibility. Deadlines spur action and that deadline is a week away now as the Steelers figure to leave next Saturday for Denver.
Essentially there is no new news here, but instead just old news repackaged to be new news.
