Brian Hartline, Miami Dolphins Agree to Five-Year, $30.775 Million Deal
By Josh Sanchez
Just 24 hours before the start of the legal tampering period begins, the Miami Dolphins have agreed to a contract with wide receiver Brian Hartline. Pro Football Talk was the first to break the news on Thursday night.
Brian Hartline agrees to terms with Dolphins, per source with knowledge of the situation.
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) March 8, 2013
Hartline’s new deal with the Dolphins is a five-year, $30.775 million contract, with $12.5 million in fully-guaranteed money.
“It feels great to know perseverance has paid off,” Hartline said. “Now, it’s about winning games. I feel like we’re on right path. We’re close.”
Wow. That is a lot of money for a player of Hartline’s caliber. Remember, Hartline only found the endzone one time last season.
Imagine what the top free agent receiver, Mike Wallace, is going to demand on the open market.
It was just a couple of days ago that reports surfaced of the Dolphins and Hartline being close to a deal and now the new contract has been completed.
With Hartline off of the market, Wallace has to be smiling.
The Pittsburgh Steelers speedy wideout is generating a lot of interest and will not look to blow Hartline’s contract out of the water. Wallace’s deal will likely exceed the one that Vincent Jackson received from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last offseason.
We have to wonder what the re-signing of Hartline will mean for the Dolphins pursuit of Wallace. The Minnesota Vikings, Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns have also been connected to Wallace.