The Cleveland Browns plan to waste little time matching the Jacksonville Jaguars offer sheet to Pro Bowl center Alex Mack. According to a multiple reports on Wednesday night, Mack reached agreement with the Jacksonville Jaguars on a five-year offer sheet.
On Thursday, various reports indicated that the deal is worth $42 million, with Mack getting $18 million in the first two seasons and $8 million guaranteed in the third year if the contract is not voided after two years. There is also a stipulation that the team cannot place the franchise tag on him after the 2015 season. The Browns, per reports, will stay true to owner Jimmy Haslam’s statement that Cleveland would match the offer “in a second.”
The choice for the Browns is simple — match the deal or watch Mack walk.
The Browns placed the transition tag on Mack — not the franchise tag — giving the team the chance to match any offer sheet he might sign. The transition tag guarantees Mack the average of the 10 highest-paid offensive linemen, or $10.039 million. By using the transition tag on Mack instead of the franchise tag, Cleveland will have five days to match any offer. If the Browns had used their franchise tag, Mack would have made $11.654 million next season.
Mack (6-foot-4, 311 pounds) was drafted by the Browns in the first round in 2009. He has not missed one offensive play in five years, a run of 4,998 consecutive snaps.