Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Santonio Holmes is due to receive a guaranteed base salary of $7.75 million in 2012. It’s fully guaranteed, for injury, skill, and salary cap.
And here’s where the decision gets even thornier. If he’s on the roster on the second day of the 2012 league year, $7.5 million of his $11 million base salary in 2013 becomes fully guaranteed, too.
And so the Jets have to decide whether to cut him loose and owe him only $7.75 million, or whether to keep him and owe him a fully guaranteed $7.75 million for 2012 and a fully guaranteed $7.5 million for 2013.
Meanwhile, the storm clouds are gathering for Holmes. An unnamed Jets player told Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News that Holmes is a “cancer,” and that playing with Holmes is “like dealing with a 10 [year] old.”
Talent-wise, Santonio Holmes is arguably a top 10 WR in the NFL, but his locker room antics are wearing thing in New York. Holmes had a disappointing season largely due to lack of use (i.e. not enough targets) and Mark Sanchez's spotty accuracy.