Great statement by the Herald.....

[Merman]

A key point that I haven't seen made yet: Jason Taylor was in this EXACT position... he took the 1-year tender, showed up in the off season, played his butt off all year, and got paid bigtime because of it.

If you all remember, it was the year after Trace left. Basically, everyone said, well, you had a good year because you were opposite Trace... now do it again and we'll pay you. (Sound familiar?) He did, no questions asked, no BS, and they rewarded him.

Your memory is not accurate. No ill will is meant as we all make mistakes. :)

Jason had an awful season in 1999 with only 40 tackles and 2.5 sacks. He had no case to make for a big contract. His best option was to sign the required tender and had a contract year in 2000 with 60 tackles and 14.5 sacks.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/stats?statsId=3968

The Dolphins rewarded him with the biggest contract for a DE to that date. A one payment $9 million signing bonus included in a $45 million contract.

 

[Merman]

The Dolphins rewarded him with the biggest contract for a DE to that date. A one payment $9 million signing bonus included in a $45 million contract.

Talking about memory, $45 million is his latest extension. The deal in 2001 was $42 million. Here is some documentation.

Please notice that the dispute over a single payment signing bonus is not new. Also remember that Taylor was franchised that year and the deal was not signed until July.

Mon, 23 Jul 2001 09:17:42 –0700
Dolphins | Taylor Terms - from www.KFFL.com
The Associated Press reports the terms of DE Jason Taylor's new contract with the Miami Dolphins as a six-year, $42 million deal. Earlier reports had the signing bonus in the $9 million range, but that has not been confirmed.

It was $9 million.
http://asp.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/salaries/playerdetail.aspx?lname=taylor&player=2252

Dolphins | More Moves Needed - from www.KFFL.com
Sat, 24 Feb 2001 00:22:56 -0800
Alex Marvez reports for the Sun Sentinel after the Miami Dolphins had to name DE Jason Taylor their franchise player, their salary cap situation took a turn for the worse. Taylor is now slated to count $5.39 million against the cap and combined with the $6.5 million DT Tim Bowens is set to receive, the Dolphins now have almost 18 percent of their salary cap allocated to just two players. As an update to yesterday's report, Taylor turned down the Dolphins final offer over the way the team wanted to pay him a $10 million signing bonus. Taylor reportedly wanted the money upfront while the team wanted to spread the bonus over the first several years of the contract. The team can release some players to clear space, but given the current situation they may not be able to add any big-name free agents.