Laremy Tunsil Trade: The Five O’Clock Club, What’s causing the delay in the announcement of the Trade?

Tweets and stories that use the phrase “officially official” to declare that something we’ve all known about for a while has finally and formally occurred anger a lot of people, I know.

During the NFL offseason, it’s typical to learn of a trade as early as February and then have to wait until the middle of March to be informed that it’s official. For instance, a week before the deal could be consummated and made public,

the 2022 trade for Carson Wentz was made public here in Washington. The Deebo Samuel deal this offseason was made public on March 1st, but the two teams involved had to wait until the 12th to make the official announcement.

Waiting is justified for a good reason. The majority of Washington supporters will remember that not too long ago, during the free agency negotiating period,

JD McKissic inked a contract with the Buffalo Bills. However, he later changed his mind and re-signed with the newly-minted Commanders for the 2022 season.

If the Bills had made the announcement prior to the contract being signed, they would have acted prematurely. Before making an announcement, NFL teams must wait for things to become “officially official.”

An notification of Laremy Tunsil’s acquisition by trade is something you won’t discover.

Fans can follow the Commanders’ 2025 offseason roster construction progress on a dedicated page on the team’s website. That page states the following regarding

the alleged transaction, yet there is no announcement from the team regarding the move for Laremy Tunsil:

This summer, the Commanders reportedly acquired one of the top left tackles in football in order to strengthen the offensive line and protect Daniels.

Laremy Tunsil is being traded by the Texans to the Commanders in exchange for draft compensation, according to ESPN’s Schefter.

Yes. In order to inform fans about the Tunsil trade—which the Commanders are not permitted to discuss in public until the move is finalized—the team’s own

website is quoting ESPN reporting.

On March 10th, the first day of the NFL’s “legal tampering period,” the deal for Laremy Tunsil was originally disclosed. Since the new league year began on

March 12th, the deal didn’t have to stay unofficial for very long. The Commanders actually made the announcement about the Deebo Samual exchange at that time.

Photos of players signing contracts and media meetings with local reporters for numerous new and returning players have been on display all week.

There hasn’t been any formal reference to Laremy Tunsil. Why is that, I wonder?

You might be thinking that I’m going to get into some insane conspiracy idea at this point, but I’m not.

I do not believe that the trade is in jeopardy or that it is a fraud.

First of all, if the move wasn’t actually taking place, the team wouldn’t mention it on its own website, and if there was any chance that the deal wouldn’t be finalized

, local and national reporters would have heard rumors. Second,

Laremy Tunsil’s $21.3 million cap hit is not subject to a salary cap charge until the transaction occurs. This implies that the Commanders should have plenty

of cap room as long as the deal is not done. However, in order to create some additional 2025 cap space,

they just renegotiated Andrew Wylie’s deal. That would just not be required in the absence of the Tunsil trade.

Why am I even discussing this if I am so certain that the trade remains solid?

The reason this transaction hasn’t been completed yet still

baffles me. After all, this is the Commanders’ biggest offseason deal based solely on contract worth.

The logistics of finalizing the purchase should be rather simple, unless Laremy Tunsil took a family vacation abroad.

That leads me to believe that Tunsil’s contract is the reason for the delay. His current salary is $42.7 million, which will be distributed exactly evenly over the following two seasons.

These two years were part of Tunsil’s most recent contract with the Texans, which earned him $25 million annually. In fact, he is on course to get all of that money.

As part of his signing bonus, a large portion of money is already in his bank account.

That money isn’t shown above because the Commanders only take on the $42.7 million in cash that hasn’t been paid on that deal, but the Texans must absorb it into their cap costs.

For a left tackle of Tunsil’s caliber, this $21.3 million APY is a reasonable price, yet the contract has no financial guarantees, giving the Commanders the most flexibility but giving Tunsil little security.

I’m fairly certain that Laremy Tunsil wants to take advantage of the situation to secure a new deal with Adam Peters before all sides approve the transaction, which is why neither the Texans nor the Commanders have made an official announcement regarding the Tunsil trade.

The revelation that Tunsil’s contract has been extended to a 4- or 5-year agreement with an additional signing bonus, additional guaranteed money, and likely a substantially reduced cap charge for 2025 will accompany the transaction when it ultimately becomes “officially official,” in my opinion.

If this is true, it would be the team’s first significant long-term commitment to an outside free agent since Adam Peters moved to Washington. Sam Cosmi’s extension, which was inked before the ’24 season began, was the only other agreement of this kind.

Negotiating with Tunsil can be challenging because he represents himself and doesn’t utilize an agent. Adam Peters may find “tough” negotiating a little challenging as a result. After all, when attempting to negotiate a deal that benefits the team, the general manager will want to come across as upbeat and friendly.

For his part, I believe Tunsil will want to take advantage of this chance to attempt to become the NFL’s highest paid left tackle for the third time in his career. Christian Darrisaw ($26 million APY) and Trent Williams ($27.5 million APY) are currently the two most paid players at the position. Last year, those two contracts were inked.

Tunsil, in my opinion, will want to become the first left tackle to earn at least $28 million annually. The ultimate contract would need to be for $140 million, which would add three years and $97.3 million to the current arrangement, assuming the Commanders agreed to a five-year agreement.

This is a condensed illustration of how a contract extension without void years might appear:

Of course, the Commanders could add empty years into 2030 and beyond with options and triggers similar to those used recently by the Eagles and others if they wanted to defer cap space more aggressively, but I don’t think it’s necessary to show what that would look like.

When the trade to make Laremy Tunsil a Washington Commander is finalized, I believe he would be attempting to sign a contract that would make him the highest-paid left tackle in the NFL in 2025. This is the general outline of the contract I envision.