Bell's deal with Eagles all about flexibility

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The dilemma facing the Eagles when Jason Peters got hurt was whether to replace him with a stop-gap left tackle who they could get rid of after a year or whether to protect themselves in the event that Peters isnt ready for the 2013 season and sign a replacement for the long haul.

With a creative and unique contract hammered out by Eagles General Manager Howie Roseman and agent Ted Marchibroda Jr., son of the one-time Eagles offensive coordinator, they managed to do both.

Peters, one of only two NFL offensive linemen named to each of the last five Pro Bowls, suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in late March while working out near his home in Texas and underwent surgery to repair the tendon last Wednesday in Philadelphia.

Although the Eagles havent ruled out his return at the end of the 2012 season, theres a good chance Peters wont play this year, and experts say theres also a chance Peters wont play again.

Dr. Mark Schwartz, co-director of Virtua Hospitals sports medicine program, said recent studies have shown that about 30 percent of NFL players who suffer a ruptured Achilles dont return to action.

Last Wednesday, the Eagles moved to replace Peters by signing Demetress Bell, who replaced Peters in Buffalo after Peters signed with the Eagles following the 2008 season.

Details of Bells contract, obtained by CSNPhilly.com, show what is technically a five-year, 34.5 million contract. But if the Eagles chose, it turns into a one-year, 3.25 million deal. Or a few things in between.

Here are the details:

The contract includes base salaries of 1.15 million in 2012, 1 million in 2013, 6 million in 2014, 7 million in 2015 and 8.35 million in 2016.

There is no signing bonus, but there are two roster bonusesa 2 million bonus paid this year and an 8.5 million bonus due to Bell in 2013. Hes also due workout bonuses of 100,000 in each of the five seasons.

Bells salary cap hits are listed as 3.25 million in 2012, 9.6 million in 2013, 6.1 million in 2014, 7.1 million in 2015 and 8.45 million in 2016.

If Peters is able to return healthy for 2013 or Bell struggles at left tackle, the Eagles can release Bell after the season with no cap hit and no more guaranteed money owed to Peters, and he will have earned only the 3.25 million1.15 million from his base salary, 2 million roster bonus and 100,000 workout bonus.

If Bell plays well and Peters is unable to return, the Eagles can guarantee the 8.5 million roster and turn it into a signing bonus, which will allow them to pro-rate the final four years of the bonus at a cap-friendly 2.125 million per year from 2013 through 2016.

The Eagles would still have the flexibility to release Bell after 2013 and avoid those three large base salaries in 2014, 2015 and 2016, totalling 21.35 million. They would absorb a fairly significant cap hit in that event, although the NFLs salary cap is expected to be much higher starting in 2013, thanks to the new TV deal, so it wouldnt be catastrophic.

In the somewhat unlikely event that Bell turns into a Pro Bowl-caliber player, and the Eagles do keep him for the duration of the deal, hell end up with a contract that is along the lines of what a typical NFL starting left tackle makes.

But what does Bell get out of the deal?

First, hes guaranteed 3.25 million in 2012, which is more than he would have gotten on a one-year deal if he had signed elsewhere. Seen as a one-year contract, Bell would be earning far more than hes ever made as a pro. Since he entered the league as a seventh-round pick, his original four-year deal with the Bills paid him just 2,482,479, or about 621,000 per year.

So even if the Eagles release Bell after the 2012 season, hell have earned nearly a million dollars more this year than in his entire four years in Buffalo.

If the Eagles keep him, hell have a deal that will make him one of the 20 highest-paid offensive tackles in football (based on current deals).

Either way, the Eagles win. They get a left tackle for the 2012 season with the flexibility to get rid of him next offseason if they want or keep him around at a fair price if Peters cant come back.

Either way, Bell wins. Hes now earning more money than hes ever seen before and more than he would have gotten elsewhere. And along with that, hes guaranteed either a huge contract in the future or a return to free agency, where barring disaster in 2012 hell once again be one of the more coveted unrestricted free agent offensive tackles.

E-mail Reuben Frank at rfrank@comcastsportsnet.com

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