Bushrod...

I agree; for a starting LT with 2 pro bowls on his resume, $8M per year is reasonable. Beatty just signed a $7.5M per year contract, so it sounds like Bushrod is base lining that deal. However, I don't think Bushrod will get that on the open market.

$8M is where his camp will start negotiations (assuming the original poster is accurate), it will be too rich for our taste, and he will test the market. Much like Jake Long he will be welcomed to a lukewarm tackle market and realize that he is worth $6M-$7M per year. I actually think we will offer him a deal similar to Beatty.

Well, it all depends on how that market shakes out. Could be higher than we think. Jake Long is coming off an injury, but when healthy is an Elite LT. Also, we get too hung up on the total salary and the per year average, which is almost meaningless. It's all about signing bonus and other guaranteed money.

I looked at 6 somewhat recent LT deals for high caliber players.

Joe Thomas - 10M/yr (8 yr 80.5M)
Jason Peters - 10.1M/yr
Jordan Gross - 9.4M/yr
D'Brickashaw - 9.2M/yr
Doug Free - 8M/yr
Michael Roos - 7.2M/yr (signed in 2008 though...)
Beatty - 7.5M/yr

So, you'll pretty much see two or three levels (depending on how you like to break it down). Basically there is a 7-8M/yr club and there is the 9-10M/yr club.