| For NFL players, the contract basically has two parts to it, the signing bonus and the salary.
The signing bonus is money that you usually get up front, but sometimes it is deferred through the life of the contract. That money is guaranteed, so player's usually want as big a signing bonus as possible
A football player's salary is NOT guaranteed. Basically, the team can cut a player at any time, and will not owe the player any of the money still owed to him under the contract (except if the signing bonus was deferred)
The contract basically works the same way as you said above...you get x amount of money, for x amount of years. also, sometimes there are incentives thrown in, such as "If Quarterback X throws 30 touchdowns, he gets an additional million dollars" or something like that |