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| Jeff Garcia |
Garcia tops Manning as highest paid for 2002-03 Len Pasquarelli - ESPN.com (June 16th, 2003)
But when it comes to a roll call of the league's highest-paid quarterbacks, at least over a two-year period, the four-year veteran certainly merits considerable attention. And that's because in terms of actual money that he will be paid for 2002-03, Garcia leads all NFL quarterbacks in compensation, according to league salary records obtained by ESPN.com. Over that period, Garcia will have earned $20.4 million, about $1.4 million more than runner-up Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts. The calculations could change, and dramatically, if Manning signs a long-term contract extension. Manning and the Colts are in the early stages of negotiations and a deal does not appear imminent. But for a former CFL star like Garcia, a player who had to scrape just to land an NFL audition, the numbers are staggering. They are part of the deal that Garcia originally signed in 2001, and has since extended through 2008, and reflect not only an $11.5 signing bonus in 2002 but much creativity in terms of creating even more financial opportunity in the near future. That is, in part, because the contract provides Garcia, 33, the ability to void the deal following the 2004 season, and to become a free agent at that time. Garcia is scheduled to earn base salaries of $4.25 million this season and of $6.5 million in 2004. The carefully crafted contract, negotiated by Bay area agent Steve Baker, took full advantage of an option clause, escalators and, of course, the 49ers' cap situation. The contract makes Garcia the first quarterback to earn over $20 million in a two-year period. It puts Garcia, whose bank account belies his modest physical appearance, atop an elite grouping of quarterbacks who will have earned more than $11 million in actually money paid out 2002-2003. The quarterbacks who will bank $12 million or more in that period: Manning, $19.025 million; Donovan McNabb (Philadelphia), $19.006 million; Steve McNair (Tennessee), $16.056 million; David Carr (Houston), $14.175 million; Kurt Warner (St. Louis), $13.1 million; Tom Brady (New England), $13.009 million; Mark Brunell (Jacksonville), $13.003 million; Michael Vick (Atlanta), $12.309 million; Trent Green (Kansas City), $12.155 million; and Jake Plummer (Denver), $12.04 million. By comparison, even with his recent contract extension, Minnesota Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper will earn just $4.51 million in actual money paid out 2002-03. His relative lack of celebrity aside, Garcia has registered numbers beyond those he has rung up at the pay window, throwing for 13,704 yards the past four seasons. In the last three years, he has 84 touchdown passes and just 32 interceptions, and his career passer efficiency rating is 89.9.
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