Miami Dolphins Safety Reshad Jones Deserves Big Payday Amid Holdout

This point in the NFL offseason is one of the slower parts of the league’s calendar for most teams and players. Fat new contracts have been awarded in free agency and the draft as teams look to supplement their roster with talent. The biggest early-summer drama for front offices is when a superstar veteran threatens to hold out for a new deal.

Sometimes the team caves to the player’s demands by either renegotiating their current contract or extending a short-term agreement. The most notable offseason holdout who isn’t on a franchise tag is Miami Dolphins safety Reshad Jones, who is angling for a deserved big payday by threatening to withhold his services from the Dolphins franchise.

Jones had an absolutely absurd season despite the Dolphins stumbling to a 6-10 finish. He finished fourth in the NFL in total tackles with 135, tied for sixth with five interceptions and added 15 passes defensed and two defensive touchdowns. He should have been a first-team All-Pro, but wasn’t granted that honor partially due to the lack of team success.

According to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald, Jones reported to Day 2 of minicamp after missing all of OTAs and the first day of minicamp. His holdout is about the lack of guaranteed money left on his current contract, although Jones has no leverage in seeking a new deal. Salguero's feeling is that progress toward a new contract could have broken the ice between both parties.

Even bringing up the subject of a holdout is a difficult fight for a player to win. The public relations battle they face is steep, as fans are understandably in the corner of the team. A player who sacrifices a bit of money can help the team win if they properly allocate those assets elsewhere.

But players have an extremely short playing window that can close in the blink of an eye. One injury, coaching change or slight dip in effectiveness can immediately end a career. Players have every right to fight for their open-market value, but teams also have the previously signed contractual agreement as leverage to fall back on.

Contracts are misleading in nature, as we know well by know. Most multiyear deals only carry guaranteed money through the first two seasons unless the player is one of few worthy of getting Year 3 bonuses. Those are uncommon. So it shouldn’t be surprising when a player like Jones gets to the unguaranteed portion of his contract and wants more stability.

A fifth-round pick, the 6’2”, 215-pound safety signed his first contract with the Dolphins in 2010. He quickly outplayed his four-year, $1.9 million deal to the point where Miami wanted to lock him in long term an entire year before he’d hit unrestricted free agency. The team redid the last year of his rookie contract to give him a $300,000 raise in 2013 and four more years to equal $28 million with $15 million guaranteed.

The structure of the contract guaranteed the first three years of his new five-year deal, leaving the final two years completely unguaranteed. While the average annual value of the contract is $7 million, 2015 was the first time in Jones’ career he earned more than $3 million in one season. Considering the production Miami had gotten out of him to that point, he had been among the NFL’s best bargains.

Now in the final two years of his deal, Jones’ salary compares somewhat favorably to his peers, although the safety market has reset in the last two offseasons. The NFL’s elite have received major extensions, leaving Jones eighth in average annual salary. He’s behind inferior players like New Orleans Saints safety Jairus Byrd and Jacksonville Jaguars safety Tashaun Gipson.

What makes things more difficult for the Dolphins is the Minnesota Vikings' recent extension of Harrison Smith. Jones and Smith were arguably the two most dominant safeties in the NFL last year, and Smith was given a five-year, $51.3 million deal. This put him second in average salary for the position behind Kansas City Chiefs safety Eric Berry, who is on a franchise tag. The difference is about $3 million between Jones and Smith, despite Jones being more productive in 2015.

His holdout may not be about that $3 million in yearly salary, though. The bigger issue is likely the lack of guaranteed money. Jones is set to be an unrestricted free agent again in 2018, when he will be 30 years old. This may be his last chance to earn three years of guaranteed money since the market is rarely kind to players out of their physical prime.

Compared to the rest of an expensive Dolphins roster, Jones is a great value. He’s likely the second-best player on the team but is seventh in salary in 2016, barely ahead of tight end Jordan Cameron. While he’ll never earn Ndamukong Suh- or Ryan Tannehill-type money, Jones’ importance to the franchise is enormous.

The Dolphins' cap situation isn’t ideal for Jones to earn significantly more money if they were to rip up his current contract. They have $10 million available this year, and another $14 million slated for next offseason. Those numbers can easily swell through veteran cuts if need be, but the difference of where Jones’ salary is and the top of the position isn’t big enough to alter the franchise’s plans.

There is an amicable solution the Dolphins can offer Jones that would quench his desire for long-term security and need to feel valued. Since the last two years of his contract are unguaranteed, converting that money to guaranteed dollars in an early extension would keep Miami’s cap situation on track and also give Jones comfort. He’d likely also want a third year guaranteed along with a pay raise to get him into the elite tier.

Keeping his current salary of $8.2 million in 2016 and 2017 salary of $8 million in mind as the baseline and a ceiling of $10 million per year, it’s fair to offer Jones a new deal with a 25 percent increase from the start of a new contract to the end. That would boost his 2016 and 2017 salary into the $9 million neighborhood. The total contract could be five years, $48 million, with $28 million guaranteed. This would almost mirror Smith’s deal, which has $28.6 million guaranteed.

The only significant change this would have on Miami is the 2017 and 2018 commitment to Jones, with slight bumps in the next two seasons. Jones is a lock to be paid over the next two season anyways, barring injury. Rewarding a homegrown talent with a fair contract would not only be the right message to the locker room, but also to agents who want to set their clients up for the best situation in the future.

The Dolphins have struggled to retain homegrown talent in recent years, in part because they haven’t drafted or developed well. Jones is a clear superstar capable of building an entire secondary around. He’s shown the versatility to star as a box defender or a single-high ball hawk.

Those types of safeties are incredibly rare and valuable. He’d be impossible to replace, and his transformation from Day 3 flier pick to Pro Bowl player must be used as an example within the Dolphins' building. Showing good faith with Jones would set the tone for other young players. Work hard and improve throughout two contracts, and the franchise will continue to back their indispensable players.

As training camp nears in the next five weeks, Jones’ situation is a must-watch. Although he doesn’t have the contractual leverage to execute a serious holdout, his talent and pedigree certainly does create a situation for the Dolphins front office to address.

Jones has earned another big payday and outperformed his current contract. The Dolphins should do what’s right by adding guaranteed money and a slight increase to reflect his status across the league. Doing anything less will cause ripples throughout the locker room and affect future situations for the Dolphins when their up-and-coming talent is in this same situation.

All stats are from Sports-Reference.com. All contract information is courtesy of Spotrac.

Ian Wharton is an NFL Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report.

Follow @NFLFilmStudy