Atogwe signs franchise tender - correction

Free safety O.J. Atogwe signed the one-year, $6.34 million contract he was tendered as the Rams' designated franchise player last Wednesday. So he's eligible to be a free agent again before the 2010 season. As of right now, that is slated to be the infamous "uncapped" season, but with Atogwe slated to be a restricted free agent. Under the old CBA, he would not have been restricted.

As a restricted free agent, the Rams would not have to use the franchise tag on Atogwe again to keep him in 2010. They could tender him for 10% over his 2008 pay, which would be just about $7 million. If another team then signed Atogwe to an offer sheet the Rams declined to match, that team would owe the Rams first- and third- round draft picks. (P.S.: not gonna happen.)

If Atogwe were an unrestricted free agent going into 2010, the Rams could franchise him again, at a cost of 20% over his 2008 pay, or roughly $7.6 million. To sign him away, another team would have to give the Rams its next two first-round picks. (P.S.: not gonna happen.)

The Rams can still negotiate with Atogwe throughout the 2009 season but he can't sign anything till the season's over. (Though the Rams team report at Yahoo Sports, which corrects a bunch of mistakes I posted last week, offers that may not be such an open-and-shut case.)

Contrary to Rams contract negotiator Kevin Demoff's dishonesty, ER, optimism, last week, Bill Coats reported that the two sides are still far apart on a long-term deal.

It's hard to fault either side for the lack of a long-term deal. For the Rams, it's impossible to come up with any kind of cap-friendly deal when you have no idea if there's going to be a cap next year or what it will be. As for Atogwe, as long as he stays healthy and plays well, he's making $13-14 million the next two years to play here. If he's risking $600,000 on there being a new CBA for 2010, the odds are pretty good he can make that back and then some on a future long-term contract. At his age and career trajectory, the last thing he should want to do is rush into a long-term deal. If the 2011 cap rises significantly, he could leave a lot of money on the table signing a deal too early.

Fans may benefit, too: Atogwe's likely to hawk after all the turnovers he can eat while he's playing for a contract the next couple of years. As long as he recognizes going for the turnover isn't always the best play to make, the Rams stand to benefit big-time from the turnover-forcing skills of one of their young, motivated defensive leaders.

photo - stlouisrams.com