The Philadelphia Eagles have announced that free agent cornerback Ronald Darby has agreed to a new contract with the team.
Roster Move: #Eagles and CB Ronald Darby have agreed to terms on a one-year contract.#FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/ICvWKgkMHf
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) March 15, 2019
Even by NFL standards – where contract figures are often misleading because contracts aren’t guaranteed – the structure of Darby’s deal is a little perplexing.
Odd structure on Ronald Darby’s Eagles deal. Guaranteed $4.5M (3.5M sign bonus, 1M ’19 salary), plus can earn up to $2M in per-game roster bonuses and another $2M incentives. He’s also “signed” for 4 more years after this at $15M/yr, but those 4 years automatically void next Feb.
— Dan Graziano (@DanGrazianoESPN) March 19, 2019
Essentially, Darby’s contract is a one-year, $4.5 million deal but the team can bring him back after the 2019 season, but at a significantly greater dollar amount.
“For me, it was just the right thing to come back to the #Eagles. I love it here.”
– @realronalddarby?: https://t.co/QUra9bltfB pic.twitter.com/ihQU8DbSqT
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) March 20, 2019
Darby has played in Philadelphia the last two seasons. He started his career with the Buffalo Bills after being selected in second round of the 2015 NFL Draft. In August of 2017, Darby was traded to the Eagles for WR Jordan Matthews and a 2018 third-round pick which was used to take DT Harrison Phillips.
The 25-year-old Darby has started 45 of 46 games he’s appeared in as a pro. He has 54 passes defended, six interceptions, and 214 total tackles (190 solo, 24 assisted) for his career.
