Former Cleveland Browns third-round draft pick Larry Ogunjobi signed a one-year free agent deal in 2021 with the Cincinnati Bengals and proceeded to parlay that into something of a breakout season. While he was unable to finish out the year due to a foot injury, the Chicago Bears backed the Brinks truck up, offering to pay him $40.5 million over three years.
Only they hit the gas and pulled away after Ogunjobi came in for his physical. Chicago rescinded the deal and he remained a free agent until June, roughly three months after the initial agreement. It was the Pittsburgh Steelers who finally struck a deal, uncoincidentally just after Stephon Tuitt announced his retirement.
While they only offered another one-year deal, worth $8 million, it was the chance he wanted to get himself back on the market and raise his value by having a healthy and productive season. And the pay day ended up coming in Pittsburgh—not just because they paid up, but because of how they treated him along the way.
“Going through the injury last year, just how they took care of me and welcomed me with open arms was super important”, he told reporters yesterday during OTAs, via audio provided by the Steelers’ media relations department.
In a reminder of why so many players focus on fully guaranteed salary upon signing, Ogunjobi went from earning a deal paying him over $13 million per season to one worth only $8 million. The contract that he signed this year pays him just under $10 million, so his market did not fully recover, and he did get $12 million fully guaranteed.
Players coming off of injuries often struggle to find their market value with teams understandably concerned about paying somebody only to watch them stand on the sidelines for much of their contract because of injuries. Odell Beckham Jr., for example, ended up sitting out the entire 2022 season.
Ogunjobi was not at his best last year for the Steelers, though still successful, registering 48 tackles with seven for loss along with a sack and a half and 11 quarterback hits. But Pittsburgh re-signed him because it knows he can deliver more.
As the seventh-year veteran told reporters yesterday, he could not even run until he got to training camp. The Steelers were willing to take the chance on him and bring him along slowly, giving him the opportunity to recover. They were rewarded for it, getting a solid starter and clear upgrade from the previous season who can be a legitimate weapon going forward.
The NFL is a business, as we’re repeatedly reminded, but it’s also a people business in many ways. Simply treating a player like a person and making him feel like he actually matters beyond the labor he can provide can go a long way, not just in contract negotiations, but in untold other ways.
