St. Louis Rams: New Details on Deal for Former Titans Corner Cortland Finnegan

According to a tweet from St. Louis Rams beat writer Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, more of the intricate details of the first Rams signing of the 2012 NFL Free Agency period have come available: 

"Jim Thomas ‏ @jthom1

Some details on Finnegan contract: he gets $33 million over first 3 seasons, $27 million guaranteed, but only $6 million cap count in 2012.

"

As most of you know, the Rams agreed to a deal with Finnegan yesterday and the finalization of the contract continued to be worked on into today.  The contract totals 5 years and $50 million dollars, if fulfilled in its' entirety. 

As for the new details as reported by Thomas in the tweet above, Finnegan's contract only counts $6 million towards the St. Louis cap in 2012. 

Interestingly, the St. Louis cut of long-time starter Ron Bartell saved $6.25 million dollars in relation to the 2012 salary cap (according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch), almost precisely what Finnegan will count against the Rams' cap this season.

Perhaps the most important revelation from Thomas is the guaranteed figure of $27 million, 54 percent of the total number of $50 million dollars.  

That means that the Rams are not on the hook for the entire $50 million unless Finnegan plays out the entirety of the five-year deal. 

The details of the year-to-year specific costs after 2012 were not made available, however, this information gives all of us a better idea of the inner-workings of the aforementioned Finnegan contract. 

For more on Finnegan and the Rams situation in the defensive backfield, please take a look at this piece from Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 

Shane Gray covers the St. Louis Rams year-round. You are encouraged to check out the rest of his work here and to follow him on Twitter.