Re: 15 year Contract! Is this possible? Well to the Islanders, it is possible, and it's reality.<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- The New York Islanders have become the NHL's version of a three-ring circus -- and the spotlight keeps shining on the guys in net."I guess it's pretty beneficial to be a goaltender on Long Island right now," Rick DiPietro said Tuesday, moments after signing the longest playing contract in NHL history.One week shy of his 25th birthday, the brash netminder from New England grabbed a pen and confidently inked his name to a 15-year deal that will pay him $4.5 million each season until 2021, totaling $67.5 million."Well, 15 years seems like a long time," he said before a deep sigh. "It is a long time."Standing next to him was Garth Snow, his 37-year-old former teammate and backup, who hung up his skates earlier this summer the same day he took over as Islanders general manager. If that was strange enough, he was replacing Neil Smith, who had been on the job a little more than a month.Snow's biggest priority suddenly became negotiating the deal to keep the Islanders' most popular player in the fold until he's nearly 40."At first it was a little awkward," DiPietro said.And so it goes for the Islanders, who always seem to make more news and noise during the offseason than in winter."This is not a big deal," owner Charles Wang said. "You have to have a commitment to who you're working with. I've done this all my business career. Now I'm doing it in sports and everybody is like, 'Oh my God. How could he do that?"'He's been hearing that a lot. The Islanders missed the playoffs and then led the league in summer news conferences.Since they last played, the Islanders have hired a coach (Ted Nolan) who was out of the league since being dismissed by Buffalo in 1997; a GM (Smith) in NHL exile since he was fired by the Rangers in 2000; and then his replacement (Snow), who was set to play another season.DiPietro's landmark deal topped the one given to enigmatic teammate Alexei Yashin in 2001, a 10-year, $87.5 million contract that sent NHL salaries soaring and led to the cap that ended last year's lockout.It also saddled New York with a player who is nearly impossible to move and takes up a big chunk of the team's $44 million maximum payroll."We have to do it together," said Yashin, one of several Islanders at the news conference. "The contract is the contract, and we have to keep focus on the game now."But with the Islanders, the focus is often elsewhere. Wang acknowledged that some people might think he's "crazy," yet he is undeterred.DiPietro's deal is believed to be second only in length in North American sports to the 25-year pact Magic Johnson signed with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1981.According to sources at both the NHLPA and the NHL, here's how the deal shakes out:? As long as DiPietro wants to play for the Islanders, he will be paid for the duration of the deal barring either a trade to another NHL team or his retirement.? If he's traded, his contract goes with him as it was negotiated and becomes the responsibility of the team that acquires him (there currently is no provision for sharing contracts between teams). ? If he formally retires, providing the league with the appropriate papers to that effect, the contract ends and does not count against the Islanders' salary cap."Clubs are free to make their own decisions" within the rules, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said. "Time will tell whether this will be a good decision or a bad one for the Islanders."And for DiPietro.The Islanders will save money at the front end and won't have to worry about DiPietro becoming an unrestricted free agent down the road. DiPietro risks losing a future big payday, but he isn't looking at it that way."I hope at some point I'm underpaid," DiPietro said. "That means I'm playing really well and becoming an elite goaltender."</div>Big ups for DiPietro.
Re: 15 year Contract! They will really regret that. It's not guarenteed money though, right..Also, why would the Lakers sign Magic to a 25 year deal? How many of those years did he actually play... they would've been safer with a 10 year one.
Re: 15 year Contract! ....I thought 7 year contracts were big lol...and now this...this is just unbelieveable.
Re: 15 year Contract! steve young had a bigger contract in the canadian football league I think I saw it on espn but I forgot the exact stuff
Re: 15 year Contract! what a stupid thing to do. ANYTHING can happen in a 15 year span.btw, very nice find ASUFan on Magic getting a 25 year contract. is that for real?
Re: 15 year Contract! Wow. 15 years. Garth Snow is a retard. What if Rick DiPietro had a career-ending injury. Then the Islanders wouldve wasted so much money. Either way the Islanders are still stupid whether he stays in NY or not in the next 15 years.
Re: 15 year Contract! Wow, 15 years is a lot. Rick DiPietro better learn to "love" the New York Islanders because he's going to be with them for a long time. And that was a good find about the Magic deal, I never knew that.
Re: 15 year Contract! It was in the article, I won't take credit. I can look on the bright side though. They guy is only 25 and pretty good I guess. They wouldn't have to worry about the goalie for 15 years.
Re: 15 year Contract! <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (nba dogmatist @ Sep 14 2006, 10:00 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>what a stupid thing to do. ANYTHING can happen in a 15 year span.btw, very nice find ASUFan on Magic getting a 25 year contract. is that for real?</div>By the 1984 NBA Finals, Nixon was gone, Abdul-Jabbar was pushing 40 and Johnson had signed a then record 25-year, $25 million contract.http://www.nba.com/history/players/johnsonm_bio.html
Re: 15 year Contract! Wow, when I first saw this I thought it was a typo. The Islanders will most likely regret this, but imagine if he turns out to be a Hall of Fame calibur Goaltender, that would be crazy.
Re: 15 year Contract! <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Melo061 @ Sep 13 2006, 08:47 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>By the 1984 NBA Finals, Nixon was gone, Abdul-Jabbar was pushing 40 and Johnson had signed a then record 25-year, $25 million contract.http://www.nba.com/history/players/johnsonm_bio.html</div>Amazing, I had no idea.
Re: 15 year Contract! Michael Vick got a 10 year extension.But it's not that much. I dont know how much the average hockey salary is, but KG's was twice that for half the years. What's that say about overpayed NBA players?
