Details in Darrelle Revis' contract reveal that he may not be so expensive for Patriots

When the rumors that the Patriots were interested in Darrelle Revis started to fly around, everyone just kind of laughed them off.

Why laugh at the Pats trading for the - almost - indisputable top corner in the league? Well, simply because of his massive salary.

Revis is scheduled to make $16 million a year, which is about $4 million over the amount of cap space the Pats have in the first place. However, that deal might not be as cap heavy as it seems up front. In fact, it may make more financial sense to go after Revis than Aqib Talib.

Right now, we all have our sights set on Talib, who by all accounts, isn't looking to take a pay cut to stay in Foxborough.

It puts the Pats in a bit of a precarious situation. The free agent market doesn't offer many realistic and affordable options to replace him, and the team really needs someone in that top corner spot. As we've seen in the last two AFC Championship games, the corners currently on the team are incapable of filling that huge role.

Talib will be looking for at least $8 million a year, but likely more. This after Brent Grimes, an older and arguably not as good corner, re-signed for that much in Miami.

And so, enter Revis?

How does shelling out $16 million for a cornerback make any sense? Why not just sign Talib for $10 million or so if they are going to go that route?

Because, as discovered by the Boston Globe's Ben Volin, it would actually be a better value to trade for Revis' contract.

Ben Volin, Boston Globe:

How? Let’s explain:

Revis is set to make $16 million per year — $13 million in base salary, plus a $1.5 million roster bonus due each March and a $1.5 million workout bonus for showing up each offseason. At that structure, Revis’s $16 million salary cap number would be the largest on the Patriots – higher than Tom Brady’s $14.8 million.

But that contract comes with a big asterisk, as discovered by the Tampa Tribune. Per the contract, the team can convert Revis’s $13 million salary into a guaranteed bonus at any time. Revis actually would prefer this to happen — instead of waiting for the fall to receive his salary in 17 installments, he’d receive most of it up front in a big, fat check.

Converting salary money to bonus money allows a team to spread that cap money over the life of the contract, as the Cardinals did with Larry Fitzgerald last month.

So, for example, in 2014 the Patriots could decide to turn $10 million of Revis’s $13 million into bonus money, which would be spread over the final five years of his deal at $2 million per season.

That would put Revis’s 2014 salary cap number at $8 million — $3 million in base salary, $2 million bonus proration, $1.5 million roster bonus and $1.5 million workout bonus — which the Patriots easily could handle. The Patriots currently sit with $12.7 million in cap space for 2014, and can create an extra $9.2 million by cutting Dan Connolly, Isaac Sopoaga, Tommy Kelly, Adrian Wilson, and Jake Bequette. They can create even more space by giving contract extensions to Vince Wilfork, Devin McCourty, and Stephen Gostkowski.

So essentially, the Patriots can shave off a ton of that cap hit by turning it into bonus money, and giving it all to Revis up front. Salary cap wise, this would make Revis' deal only $8 million, while he gets to stay happy because he still gets that money, just all up front.

That $8 million figure is likely cheaper than what Talib is looking to get, due to Grimes' deal. Of course, the Patriots may be able to work some creative language into that contract as well to make it even cheaper than this Revis deal. (Grimes cap hit for 2014 for instance is only $4 million, despite his $8 million total salary). But would you rather have Talib or Revis?

Prior to 2012, it would be a no brainer. It's a question now though after Revis missed most of the 2012 season with a torn ACL. Traded to the smaller market in Tampa Bay, we didn't hear much about Revis last year. We heard more about the talkative and aggressive Richard Sherman in Seattle who made some big plays throughout the year and eventually won the Super Bowl. Now public perception has Sherman as the top corner.

Still, Revis' production hasn't gone down much. He was still ranked as ProFootballFocus' number 1 corner, as Volin points out. This despite being misused in zone defense with the Bucs and still recovering from a knee injury. Revis admitted that he wasn't quite 100% last season.

He was clearly the NFL’s No. 1 cornerback before tearing his ACL in 2012. Last year, in his first season back from injury, whom did profootballfocus.com rate as the No. 1 cornerback in the entire league? Yup, Revis — who according to PFF allowed just 400 receiving yards all season. Talib was 58th.

Despite that 2012 year, Revis has proven much more durable than Talib, who has missed time in every season as a Patriot. Revis has played full seasons in five of his seven years in the league.

There's still significant risk for the future with Revis though. Volin notes that he would potentially have a massive $18 million cap hit in 2015, depending on how he plays. The Pats could just cut him outright and only be charged $2 million against the cap (designating him a post-June 1st cut), but do they really want to make a trade for essentially a one year rental? They may be able to retain Revis beyond 2014 with that huge cap number, but it's not very Patriot like on a team that values depth as much as anything else. It wouldn't provide them a lot of breathing room if they can even fit the contract under the cap at that point.

Volin suggests giving up as high as a first round pick and Logan Ryan in exchange for Revis. That's an awful lot for someone who will probably only be on the team for one year.

Talib still makes the most sense for the Patriots. They can get Revis at a realistic salary for 2014, but they can get Talib for much less over the life of a longer deal. While Revis is better, the Pats have had a lot of success with Talib. The only real concern with Talib has been his injuries. If the Pats feel too uncomfortable with committing to Tallib for that reason, their next best option is Revis.