According to Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com, “there isn’t an incredible urgency” for the Cardinals to sign CB Patrick Peterson to a long-term contract extension, despite the fact that he is eligible to renegotiate his rookie deal this offseason.
Due to new rule established in 2011 by the new collective bargaining agreement, rookies must spend three years in the league before negotiating a new contract. However, NFL teams have the option to exercise a fifth-year option on players drafted in the first-round.
While Peterson is now eligible to negotiate a contract extension, and has even decided to switch agents in preparation for doing, Urban mentions that the Cardinals can always pick up his 2015 option and still have their franchise at their disposal if needed in 2016.
That means the Cardinals could keep him under team control for the first six years of his career, four of which at manageable figures. Of course, there is a chance that Arizona may still approach him regarding a long-term extension. Peterson could end up setting a new standard for NFL contracts and should surprise the $25.5 million guaranteed that the Cowboys gave to CB Brandon Carr.
Still, the CBA is beginning to look like an even worse deal for the players than it seemed at the time when the details of the agreement were made public.
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