*** DOLPHINS NEWS ***
Jun 16, 1999: -- Marino Signs Extension --
** Dan Marino Signs Extension
Yesterday, Dan Marino signed a 2 year contract extension that
will keep him under contract to the Dolphins through the year 2001.
Initial reports had Dan accepting a $6.4 million signing bonus, but it
now appears that that signing bonus is actually about $2.45 million.
His total cap hit for 1999 has been lowered from $7.1 million
to about $5.5 million. That would put his base salary around $4.7
million this year and frees up about $1.6 million to be used in
signing draftees and Dixon Edwards.
** LB Dixon Edwards agrees to contract
According to a report in this morning's Miami Herald, the
signing of Marino paved the way for free agent LB Dixon Edwards to
agree to a contract with Miami for undisclosed terms. Edwards was cut
by the Vikings a couple of weeks ago in a salary cap move.
Edwards, who has not officially signed yet, was drafted by JJ
in Dallas in 1991 and ended up starting for the Cowboys by the 1993
SuperBowl.
Last year, Edwards started 14 games for the Vikings, racking
up 46 tackles, 1 forced fumble and knocking down 2 passes.
While the terms and length of his contract are currently
unknown, it is rumored that he has signed for more than the league
minimum of $400,000, but less than $1 million.
Rumors:
The rumor accompanying Marino's contract extension is that he
is starting to talk about retiring after this season, which he hasn't
done in the past. He has always said publicly that he wants to play
until he is 40, but now there are reports that he's recently talked
about retiring after this year.
My Comments:
While it's good to have Dan's contract renegotiated, it's
unsettling to hear him talk about retirement. It's hard to imagine
the Dolphins without Dan Marino at the helm.
The bottom line, though, is that the Dolphins need the money
to sign their draft picks and restructuring Dan's contract is the best
way to get it right now.
I'm a little skeptical about the signing of Dixon Edwards.
Yes, he flourished under JJ in Dallas in 1993, but that's 6 years ago
and he didn't have that good a year last year.
While we all hope that Edwards will turn out to be another
Robert Jones, there are distinct differences between the Edwards and
Jones' signings. Jones had outstanding stats the year before he was
released, but Edwards did not.
Jones is also much younger than Edwards, who is approaching
his 31st birthday. Edwards can be a quality backup, but the Dolphins
already have enough quality backups at linebacker.
I'm not against the Edwards signing - but I do think that
it's probably a waste of time. Tito Wooten - who was just released by
the Giants - might be a better use of the Dolphins' money than
Edwards.
Related Info:
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Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New Rochelle (almost)
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