EJ Manuel vs. Tyrod Taylor

by Paul Wanecski
When the Buffalo Bills brought on Tyrod Taylor, the transaction flew pretty low under the radar on a national level and with good reason. Taylor had seen only a handful of snaps in his NFL career in the regular season, his cap number was under $900,000, and the deal was a manageable 3 year commitment with only the first years base salary guaranteed. The contract that was reported the day of the signing is significantly bigger than initially reported and his success may give the Bills a short term answer, but, a long term problem.

Comparing Taylor against Manuel (because EJ’s contract is coming up on an option year during the same time that Taylor’s contract is still valid) makes the most sense from a practical standpoint. Matt Cassel has been anointed the starter by ESPN but we here in Buffalo have to see things a different way. We know that job is up for grabs and EJ will have the advantage over the other 3 QBs on the roster. Does that mean he will be the week 1 starter? Absolutely not, the pre-season can throw challenges such as injuries and the ability for these 4 QBs to pick up a new offensive scheme. If any one of them fall victim to injury or system issues, they could be finding a new residency outside of the 716 area code. For practical purposes, the EJ vs Taylor contracts are noted below:

2015:
Base Salary
Manuel : $1,212,755 (guaranteed)
Taylor: $750,000 (guaranteed)

Signing Bonus
Manuel: $1,210,509 (prorated)
Taylor: $133,333 (prorated)

Incentives
Manuel: None
Taylor: $2,000,000 (based on playing time, wins, playoffs)

Salary Cap
Manuel: $2,423,264
Taylor:  $883,333

Now, the $2,000,000 in incentives are considered to be “unlikely to earn” incentives, which mean that they are not figured into the salary cap. If Taylor were to win the starting job and hit all incentives, this figure would be deducted from next year’s adjusted salary cap. Manuel, because of the rookie contact, has a deal that contains no bonus structure besides his initial signing bonus. At the conclusion of the 2015 year, the Bills will have until the first week in May 2016 to decide if they will select his 5th year option, which would extend his contract with an additional year effective 2017. If Taylor doesn’t work out after the first year, the team could release him and only take $266,666 in dead money while saving $2.2 million in the process. Taylor, much like Manuel, does not have practice squad eligibility.

2016:
Base Salary
Manuel: $1,616,632 (guaranteed)
Taylor: $1,000,000

Signing Bonus
Manuel: $1,210,509 (prorated)
Taylor: $133,333 (prorated)

Incentives
Manuel: None
Taylor: $3,000,000 (based on playing time, wins, playoffs)

Salary Cap
Manuel: $2,827,141
Taylor: $1,133,333

The most important wrinkle in this would be who wins the starting job in 2015 and who holds it into 2016. Should Taylor make it to year two of the deal, he is still a very affordable back-up. If Taylor were to win the starting job in 2015, the Bills would not pick up the 5th year option on EJ Manell and the 2016 year would most likely mark his final season in Buffalo. Unfortunately, if Taylor wins the job, that is when things get interesting considering the third year in his deal can void based on playing time.

Assuming Manuel wins the starting position in 2015, the team will follow up his success by most likely picking up his 5th year option, which should cost in the ballpark of between $13-14 million dollars for that season, all of which is guaranteed. However, if Taylor wins the job in either 2015 or 2016, the final year on his contract could void based on playing time. The initial word is that if he plays 50% of the snaps at QB in either 2015 or 2016, the 2017 contract year will be gone making Taylor a free agent. So, that means the Bills could conceivably be without a QB in 2017, since both Manuel’s contract would not be extended and Taylor’s could void. While everyone in Buffalo has been waiting nearly 2 decades for a franchise QB to enter One Bills Drive, just be mindful that if Taylor is the guy, the Bills are going to have to work hard to make sure he doesn’t relocate in 2017.