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Hayes, Titans agree to four-year contract
Former WSSU star will get deal worth around $3 million
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Published: July 22, 2008
Defensive end William Hayes, a fourth-round draft pick of the Tennessee Titans and Winston-Salem State's first drafted player since 1996, has agreed to a four-year contract.
Hayes said he wanted to have a contract before the Titans open training camp this weekend. He will report to camp Friday.
"I'm actually signing (on Tuesday) but the deal is done," Hayes said yesterday afternoon, just as he was about to work out at Winston-Salem State with former teammate Jason Holman.
"I guess my celebration is I'm working out to get ready for the start of camp."
Hayes, 23, said that the details of the contract have been hammered out over the last few days. He didn't know how much the deal was worth, but his agent, J.R. Rickert, said that the total package is worth about $3 million.
Hayes said that one of the first things he will do with his money is make sure that his mother, Vivian, won't have to work much longer. She works at a restaurant in High Point.
"She's done working as far as I'm concerned," said Hayes, who played high school football at High Point Andrews. "I'm going to take care of my family because they have taken such good care of me over the years."
Hayes (6-2, 258) will receive a signing bonus of a little more than $500,000, according to Rickert, and will receive that money even if he doesn't make the team. However, Hayes already is on the Titans' depth chart as a second-stringer after several successful minicamps.
The NFL minimum salary for a rookie this season is $295,000, and that should be about what Hayes will make if he's on the 53-man roster when training camp ends in August.
Hayes knows that even with a contract, he can't coast.
"By no means is my job complete because training camp is coming up and that's the real deal," he said.
In two minicamps, Hayes impressed coaches with his work ethic. In one drill, however, he went a little overboard, actually hitting quarterback Vince Young and stripping away the ball.
The Nashville News reported that Hayes realized his mistake after the hit.
"I didn't mean to strip Vince Young. I initially tried to hit the ball, but I forgot that you don't touch Vince or any quarterback," Hayes told the newspaper. "That's a quick way to get sent home."
Jim Washburn, the defensive line coach of the Titans, told the newspaper that it was a good play but that he had to remind Hayes not to hit the quarterback in a controlled drill.
"Coach Wash came over there, and was like, ‘Good job, baby. But don't touch Vince no more.' It was pretty funny," Hayes told the paper.
When told that Hayes was getting ready to work out after hearing that the contract was done, Rickert wasn't surprised.
"That's William in a nutshell," Rickert said. "If you handed him a $1 million dollars right now, he would be in the gym the next day working hard."
Rickert said that there is always anxiety among NFL rookies heading into camp, but that having the contract worked out will give Hayes some relief.
"Training camp isn't easy as it is," Rickert said. "But having this done just eases William's mind."
Hayes led the Rams in sacks last season with 8.5 and started 22 of 30 games in his career. He forced a school-record eight fumbles and recovered six in his career, and last season, he returned two recoveries for touchdowns.
Hayes was the 103rd player drafted in April. Before that, the Rams' last draft pick was running back Richard Huntley in 1996.
■ John Dell can be reached at 727-4081 or at jdell@wsjournal.com.
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