A reader recently emailed me to ask if I would do a projected market value post on Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Brandon Boykin, who is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent come the start of the new league year, and I told him I would.
Boykin is a very hard player to value being as most teams will likely only see him as a slot cornerback, which would mean he isn’t likely to be on the field for every snap. However, with that said, Boykin might very well be the best free agent slot cornerback on the market this offseason. Additionally, the fact that he’s still only 25 plays in Boykin’s favor as well.
When you look back to last year’s free agency signing period and examine the contracts that the cornerbacks signed, you would have to figure that Boykin’s market value is probably right around $6.5 million a year. Using that as a baseline, below is what a five-year contract for Boykin might look like with 40% of it being guaranteed at signing.
As you can see in my example, Boykin would get $13 million in 2016 and after the third year of his contract he will have pocketed $23 million. Boykins cap charge would hit its highest point in 2018 and if needed to be, he could realistically be cut with two years left on his deal.
While I highly doubt the Steelers will be able to re-sign Boykin, or any other high-profile free agent cornerback for that matter, it will be interesting to see what he gets on the open market and how close my projected contract winds up being to the one he ultimately signs.
| Year | Base Salary | Bonus Proration | Roster Bonus | Cap Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | $4,000,000 | $1,800,000 | $0 | $5,800,000 |
| 2017 | $4,500,000 | $1,800,000 | $0 | $6,300,000 |
| 2018 | $5,500,000 | $1,800,000 | $0 | $7,300,000 |
| 2019 | $4,750,000 | $1,800,000 | $0 | $6,550,000 |
| 2020 | $4,750,000 | $1,800,000 | $0 | $6,550,000 |
