Even Charles Johnson Was Surprised the Panthers Paid Him $30 Million Guaranteed
Raise your hand if you’ve heard of Charles Johnson. Don’t worry, nobody else has their hand up either.
Johnson just completed his fourth season as a defensive end for the Panthers. He’s a former 3rd-round draft pick out of Georgia and he had a breakout season last year accumulating 12 sacks and 62 tackles. It’s a fine season by any standards, but is it enough to justify a six-year $72 million contract with $30 million guaranteed? I don’t think so.
Apparently neither does Johnson.
“Johnson said he was “blown away” by Carolina’s offer and the money convinced him to choose Carolina over Atlanta and Denver, who also expressed interest.
“Could you have turned that down?” Johnson said of the contract with a laugh.”
Exactly! Johnson knows he’s getting a steal! Dude probably gagged himself in shock after seeing all the zeroes on the contract in front of him. He probably pulled a quad muscle jumping to sign it.
Think about it — $30 million guaranteed is a lot of money. The six-year $72 million contract Johnson agreed to is the same deal Dwight Freeney signed (in 2007). Sure it was four years ago, but is Charles Johnson in the same class as Dwight Freeney? Not a chance. I know you need good players to win, but tell me the Panthers didn’t overspend with this one.