The New York Giants and David Diehl have reached an agreement on a six-year contract with an unusual structure that will pay him significantly more money if he plays tackle than it will if he plays guard.Diehl settled in at left tackle last season after previously having played left guard, right guard and right tackle. According to John Clayton of ESPN, the contract is a six-year, $31 million deal with annual escalator clauses that increase his salaries between $750,000 and $1.1 million a year as long as he plays offensive tackle.
That makes sense -- tackle is a more important position than guard -- but couldn't it lead to problems down the road? If the coaches decide Diehl will help the team more at guard than he will at tackle, they may have a tough time convincing Diehl to agree with them.
Diehl has a good reputation as a team-first guy, and the Giants expect him to stay at tackle, so maybe this won't ever be a problem. But it sure is unusual.
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Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. I love the signing. Diehl does a great job protecting the blind side of "MV E". It is strange though how they structured the extension.
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Posted at 9:48AM on May 7th 2008 by MLJ
2. I think your missing the point. Diehl has the potential to be an All-Pro guard, he likely won't ever be that good of a tackle. The extra money is to reward him in lieu of the larger contract he would eventually receive for success at the Guard position
Posted at 2:49PM on May 8th 2008 by Adam