Yes, Brian Burns is a Giant: Breaking down the contract, and the possibilities

Let’s dive into whether or not this big move by Joe Schoen will end up paying off

The New York Giants made a huge splash on Monday with their trade for edge defender Brian Burns, who had been franchise-tagged by the Carolina Panthers. Here are some thoughts on the deal.

About that contract

It is a LOT of money. Structured in an interesting way.

It is a five-year deal worth $141 million ($87.5 million guaranteed) with reports indicating incentives that could push the total value to $150 million.

Albert Breer’s quick summary:

• $25 million signing bonus.
• $76 million fully guaranteed.
• $43.5 million in 2024.
• $66.25 million over first 2 years.
• $90 million over first 3 years.
• $28.2 million APY.

Cap hits by year:

• 2024: $23.5M
• 2025: $27.75M
• 2026: $28.75M
• 2027: $30.5M
• 2028: $30.5M

Here is what it looks like via the table at Over The Cap:

This is a “flat” contract. The base salaries aren’t back-loaded, with a low base at the beginning to lower the cap hit. That has become the normal way NFL teams structure mega-deals.

“Flat structure just means even cash flows,” said Daniel Salib (@salibdaniel1) of the ‘Cap & Trade’ newsletter. “Burns’ year one base salary is high compared to most big-time deals where the base salary is close to the minimum.”

The cap hit remains fairly constant throughout the deal. The guaranteed salary structure gives the Giants an out in 2027, the fourth year of the deal.

“Overall, the deal is strong for Burns, but the Giants didn’t overpay too much in light of the cap rise and trade leverage that Burns had,” Salib said. “The structure with a significant year one base salary is new, but it helps them keep cap hits even across the five years. It’ll help in the latter years of the deal if Burns gets there, otherwise I’m not sure why they’d do it, maybe also to keep the signing bonus down.

“His signing bonus is only $25 million, but his $18 million base in year one pushes his year one cash to $43 million. This helps the Giants because the $18 million in base is paid over the course of 36 weeks starting in the regular season as opposed to a signing bonus which is paid in large chunk installments, usually quicker than base salary. So, it helps the Giants with cash flows a bit.”

5 Burns-ing questions with Cat Scratch Reader

I reached out to SB Nation’s Panthers blog, Cat Scratch Reader, with some questions about Burns. Walker Clement offered some answers. Here is the back-and-forth:

Ed: Burns is a relatively young, talented pass rusher. Why was Carolina willing to move on?

Walker: It was a combination of things in Carolina, but the honest answer from me is “good question.”

Burns was going to be expensive and he never quite reached his ceiling here, but the previous brain trust turned down an offer from the Los Angeles Rams for 2024 and 2025 first round picks and a 2024 second at the deadline in 2022. They then proceeded to run out the clock on his rookie contract without signing him to an extension. The Panthers had no leverage and no room to keep a defensive star at a time when they are clearly going all in on offense to see if Bryce Young can hack it.

The short answer is mismanagement from top to bottom for years on end. Welcome to the Carolina Panthers experience.

Ed: He’s been a consistent force as a pass rusher, but only has one double-digit sack season in five years. Would you classify him as a star? A very good player? Exactly what?

Walker: He’s on the verge of stardom. He rarely had any help here in terms of other talent on the defense. The best player we have left (who is on Burns’ level) is defensive tackle Derrick Brown. Burns was the sole focus of most offensive protection schemes and everybody knew it. That obviously held him back over the years. I am genuinely excited to see what he can do working with the Giants’ defensive line.

Ed: The Giants have given him a MASSIVE contract. Can he justify it with his play on the field?

Walker: Maybe? The question I have around Burns is whether or not he can be The Guy when he is The Only Guy. Paying him that much money might hamstring the Giants’ ability to continue surrounding him with talent when, for example, Kayvon Thibodeaux’s rookie contract is up. But that’s the risk with any superstar contract. My advice is to enjoy the ride while it still has all the wheels.

Ed: Edge defenders have to do more than rush the passer. How are the other aspects of his game, particularly the run defense?

Walker: Burns’ pass rushing numbers have been deflated not just by lacking talent next to him on the field but also because he spent a baffling amount of third downs in coverage as a linebacker. This happened under Ron Rivera, Phil Snow, and Ejiro Evero. He’s not bad at it, to be clear, but he is better at rushing the passer.

As for his run defense, he will get washed out every once in awhile when trying to set the edge, but he’s a reliable tackler and prone to making big plays in the backfield if he can get early penetration.

Ed: What’s his reputation as a teammate/locker room guy/representative of an organization?

Walker: Burns was a team captain for us for years. He’s a standout guy who did his best to play and honor his contract over the last year when the team was playing stupid games with him. Please enjoy being the beneficiary of our stupid prize.

Final thoughts

The Burns trade reminds me of when then-GM Jerry Reese took a big swing in free agency and signed defensive end Olivier Vernon to a five-year, $85 million contract in 2016. That was the richest contract in NFL history for a defensive end at that time.

Vernon was a good player, but he wasn’t that good. The Giants paid him because they had a desperate need for pass rush and they hoped he would become more than he had been with the Miami Dolphins.

Vernon was fine with the Giants, earning second-team All-Pro honors in 2016, making a Pro Bowl in 2018 and compiling 22 sacks in three years. He wasn’t, though, an $85 million dollar man. The Giants traded him to the Cleveland Browns after three seasons.

Will Schoen get more for his investment in Burns than Reese got from Vernon? That is why is the Q&A section above I asked Clement how he would classify Burns and whether he thought the 2019 16th overall pick could live up to the contract.

Clement saying Burns is “on the verge of stardom” got my attention. The idea of Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Dexter Lawrence together on the front seven for the next few seasons should excite Giants fans. Add Bobby Okereke to that and get decent production as a third edge defender from Azeez Ojulari and that is pretty good.

This was a big swing by Schoen — the biggest and most expensive of his three offseasons (can you believe it has already been that long?) as Giants’ GM.

If it pays off, the Giants’ defense is going to be fun to watch. Except, that is, for quarterbacks.