The Jets have opened the lines of communication with Mo Wilkerson, but the anchor of Rex Ryan’s defense may still have to wait for his big payday.
The Jets have had recent discussions with the All-Pro defensive lineman’s camp about his future, but no new long-term deal is on the horizon, according to a team source.
The Jets plan on exercising a fifth-year option on Wilkerson’s contract before the May 3 deadline in the new collective bargaining agreement, the source said. Although the organization has yet to convey concrete plans to Wilkerson, the team source said that it has been made abundantly clear that the Jets will prioritize free agency and the draft over the next two months.
Wilkerson, who hasn’t missed a game in his three-year career, and the rest of the first-round picks in the 2011 draft class signed four-year deals with a fifth-year team option as part of the new CBA.
The source left open the possibility of revisiting contract extension talks with Wilkerson in the summer but admitted that it’s unlikely a new long-term pact will be struck this offseason unless the player accepts a team-friendly deal.
Wilkerson unwittingly hurt his negotiating leverage with public remarks last month that he won’t hold out if he doesn’t get a long-term deal, the team source said. Wilkerson would have incurred hefty daily fines if he held out, but that’s a player’s only true means of leverage under the current CBA structure.
It makes little financial sense for the Jets to give the 24-year-old Wilkerson, who had a career-high 10½ sacks last season, a long-term deal this summer unless it’s below market value.
He is scheduled to earn $1.2 million in 2014. Per terms of the CBA, Wilkerson, the 30th pick in the 2011 draft, is in line for $5.25 million-$6 million in 2015 under the team option, according to spotrac.com and the National Football Post.
The Jets could slap the franchise tag on Wilkerson in 2016. (The 2014 franchise number for defensive ends is $13.116 million). So, the Jets theoretically could retain Wilkerson’s rights for the next three years for around $20 million, a steal for one of the league’s elite defensive linemen.
It might make more strategic sense anyway for Wilkerson to wait until Texans star J.J. Watt, another member of the 2011 draft class, inks a long-term deal to set the market. There have been no reports that Watt and Houston have been working toward a new contract. Watt and Wilkerson may simply have to wait until after the 2014 season to land their big deals.
The Jets could play hardball and refuse to pony up a year from now, but it’s more likely that the organization’s decision makers would reward one of the team leaders with a market-value compromise at that time.
The Jets, like the rest of the teams that choose to pick up the fifth-year option for 2011 first rounders, will almost certainly wait until the May 3 deadline before making the transaction official. Per terms of the CBA, the fifth-year option salary becomes guaranteed for injury as soon it’s exercised, according to a Pro Football Talk report.
If the Jets exercised the option today, for example, they would have to pay Wilkerson’s 2015 salary if he suffered a career-ending injury during offseason workouts next month. Therefore, the prudent and wise course of action would be to wait until the May 3 deadline.
Wilkerson isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, but the question remains when he’ll cash in. Opening the lines of communication is a good start.