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It cost the New York Jets a lot of money to keep injured quarterback Chad Pennington around for the long-term. It would be costly as well for the franchise to simply release its sore-shoulder starter, a radical move some fans have suggested, but which is not about to happen anytime soon. It is, indeed, the latest reminder that, in the era of the salary cap, every move has a price tag attached to it.

Before the start of the 2004 season, the Jets signed Pennington, the league's passing champion only two years earlier, to a seven-year extension. The deal included a signing bonus of $18 million, money that, whether or not Pennington never takes another snap in a game, is irrecoverable by the team. Counting the $2 million guaranteed roster bonus Pennington received on March 1 of this year, and his base salaries of $1 million each for the 2004 and 2005 seasons, the quarterback will have pocketed $22 million by the end of this year.

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