As we noted last week when the talk of a Jared Allen trade first surfaced, any team acquiring Allen’s rights will be taking a huge risk.  With two DUIs in 2006, which prompted a two-game suspension in 2007, Allen is a mimosa binge away from facing a serious suspension, and possibly some real jail time.

The problem is that the 2006 amendments to the Collective Bargaining Agreement prevent teams from attempting to recapture significant chunks of bonus money in the event of a player default.  Instead, teams may only target a portion of the signing bonus proration for the year in which, for example, a suspension is imposed. 

The Vikings addressed this problem by pushing half of the guaranteed money into 2009 and 2010, and by making the guarantee applicable to injury only, for now.

Here are the numbers.

Allen receives a signing bonus of $15,500,069, and a base salary of $750,000 in 2008.

In 2009, he gets a base salary of $7.75 million.  A whopping $7.5 million of that amount is guaranteed against injury only; as of the first day of the 2009 league year, it is guaranteed for skill, too.

In 2010, Allen will receive a base salary of $6.38 million and a roster bonus of $8 million.  The roster bonus is guaranteed for injury only; it becomes guaranteed for skill as of the first day of the 2009 league year.

Allen’s base salaries for 2011, 2012, and 2013 and $8,979,438, $11,619,850, and $14,280,612, respectively.

Allen will receive more than $38 million over the first three years of the deal.  However, if he gets into any trouble before March 2009, the team can cut the cord, avoiding $15.5 million in guaranteed payments.

 The total value?  $73,260,069.