Things move fast in the National Football League. So fast, in fact, that the news of safety Devin McCourty's five-year contract with the New England Patriots was still just minutes old when questions started coming rapid fire about its potential trickle-down effect on another possible deal.
The question: How might McCourty's extension affect the team's ability to strike a deal with cornerback Darrelle Revis?
Our answer: It shouldn't affect it much, if at all.
Without knowing the specifics of McCourty's five-year, $47.5 million contract that includes $28.5 million in total guarantees, a reasonable assumption is that it includes lower salary-cap charges in the initial years of the pact. That's the way long-term contracts usually work.
The same would likely be true of any multi-year deal that Revis signs.
So cap space shouldn't be a factor, nor should the "ready cash" required to close a deal, in part because of quarterback Tom Brady's contract restructure from December.
Thus, the Patriots shouldn't be restricted in their ability to re-sign Revis, assuming the financial numbers don't explode to levels that would cripple them in other areas.
McCourty, in an interview on Comcast SportsNet on Sunday night, said he hopes that Revis returns to New England this season.
"I told him the same thing I feel like he would tell me: 'I want him back here, I want to play with him, he's a great teammate and the best corner in the game.' But I also know it's a business and I would never hit him up and try to pressure him into doing something," McCourty said on the program. "After going through this the last two months, to say it's a business is kind of the easiest thing. This is crazy. He understands even more than me. I already know he's going to do what's best for him."