John Abraham is the Falcons Four Million Dollar Man

News has surfaced with details on John Abraham’s new three-year contract with the Falcons. And we are all lucky that he will not cost anywhere near the $12M a year that he was asking for in the initial stages of conversation between Abe and the Falcons.

According to ESPN’s Pat Yasinskas, Abraham will receive a signing bonus of $2.25M, and when combined with his $2.15M in roster bonuses (things based on games played, that protect the Falcons if he misses significant time due to injury) his number against the salary cap is $4.4 M. That is not an overly gaudy number, something very reasonable, and still leaves the Falcons with about $3 M to work with (although that number is a guess).

The base-salary/signing bonus numbers increase in both 2013 & 2014, but the roster bonuses remain. The protection it give the Falcons to not have to guarantee cap space to a player who may get injured and miss a slew of games is very important from a fan’s perspective.

I think this is a deal that works out very well for both sides. In Atlanta, Abraham is known as “The Predator” and is a fan favorite. He has spent the prime years of his career here, and I don’t think it would be a leap to say that he is comfortable here. He can continue to be ‘the man’ in Atlanta, while mentoring any and all new pass rushers we add in the future, whether it be through the draft or free agency. The salary cap number is nothing that will ruin this franchise, and the production he brings is important, for AT LEAST the 2012 season.