New York Jets Have All the Power in Muhammad Wilkerson Negotiations

There is no bigger priority for the New York Jets than to re-sign defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson—short of finding a franchise quarterback, of course.

Just because it's priority 1a, it doesn't mean they should rush to get it done. If anything, they should rush with the urgency of a snail.

As a first-round pick in the 2011 draft, Wilkerson was a part of the first draft class that was subject to a rookie wage scale, but that's not the only piece of leverage that the veteran players forfeited on behalf of the future of the NFL. There was also a concession made to limit contracts for first-round picks to a maximum of four years and allow the teams the option of keeping that player for a fifth year.

The Jets already exercised the fifth-year option in Wilkerson's rookie deal, ahead of the deadline nearly a year ago, but 2015 is not the end of the line for the Jets and Wilkerson; theoretically, the Jets could choose to use the franchise tag on Wilkerson in 2016, keeping him with the Jets for another year. 

If the Jets use all their options, they have nearly two whole years to negotiate with Wilkerson. Why would they be in any rush?

Sure, Wilkerson is fully capable of putting up two more monster seasons that will only raise the future price tag for whichever team ends up signing him. As good as he is, though, the Jets are ushering in a new era in the front office and at head coach, where general manager Mike Maccagnan and coach Todd Bowles are leading the charge.

Aside from owner Woody Johnson, the Jets have no ties to Wilkerson anymore.

There should be no concern over Wilkerson's fit with the new regime; Bowles will run a 3-4 scheme that will look awfully similar to the one the Jets have executed for the past six years under former head coach Rex Ryan.

There should be concern, however, over how the Jets will allocate their funds in future years.

Player	2015	2016	2017
Darrelle Revis	$16,000,000	$17,000,000	$15,333,333
D'Brickashaw Ferguson	$11,698,700	$14,107,000	$14,307,000
Nick Mangold	$10,407,100	$8,600,000	$9,075,000
Brandon Marshall	$7,700,000	$8,100,000	$8,500,000
Antonio Cromartie	$7,000,000	$8,000,000	$8,000,000
Eric Decker	$6,500,000	$8,000,000	$8,750,000

They have already committed a significant amount of money to cornerback Darrelle Revis, and there are large cap hits looming for left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson and wide receivers Eric Decker and Brandon Marshall. The good news is that there are some players, like Nick Mangold and Antonio Cromartie, whose contracts do not have any guaranteed money after 2015.

That could put one or both of them in line for a restructured contract or an outright release, either of which could help free up cap space for the Jets. Some of that money, though, is tied up and not going anywhere.

To be fair, everyone is behaving kindly so far. Wilkerson has been saying he won't hold out for months now, and that was before the two sides met at the scouting combine, and even before Maccagnan publicly threw bouquets at the star defensive lineman.

"Muhammad's obviously a very good player, and we definitely want to keep him in the organization," Maccagnan said, via Dom Cosentino of NJ Advance Media.

"We have the ability and we've allocated resources potentially to do that with him," he added. "But again, that'll be something that will kind of unfold here at some point in time in the future. But I don't want to put a timetable on it to create any undue stress or pressure."

Wilkerson isn't showing up to voluntary workouts, according to his agent (via CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora):

But the reasons are tied to his ongoing workout program, and it's not unprecedented for a player to work out privately instead of joining the team—Tom Brady has done this in the past.

At some point, one or both sides will begin to feel the stress of an oncoming deadline but right now, everything and everyone seems to be happy as a clam with where things stand.

The Jets are very much in control of their own fate, and Wilkerson's fate, as they continue negotiations. Why create any pressure when, right now, there is none? 

Unless otherwise noted, all salary cap and contract information provided by OverTheCap.com.