To remain with the Philadelphia Eagles, defensive end Darryl Tappagreed to a steep pay cut, lowering his base salary from $2.575 million to $825,000 for the upcoming season.
On Thursday, Tapp explained why he agreed to the reduction.
"Yeah, I mean, in the end I wanted to be here," Tapp said, according to Geoff Mosher of CSN Philly. "It's definitely not my ideal thing, but I want to be here."
Tapp likely would have been released had he not agreed to the pay cut. With NFL teams preferring to add vested veterans after the season opener to avoid having their salaries guaranteed, the backup defensive end, who has posted 5.5 sacks in his two seasons with the Eagles, might have had a hard time finding a new NFL home this week.
According to a source with knowledge of Tapp's contract, his $825,000 base salary was fully guaranteed by the Eagles.
For Tapp, this is the second time in as many Septembers that he has slashed his pay to remain with the Eagles. Signed to a three-year, $10 million contract in March 2010 after being acquired from the Seattle Seahawks for Chris Clemons (who has 22 sacks over the last two seasons and signed a $22.1 million contract on July 27) and a fourth-round draft pick, Tapp took a $500,000 pay cut last September. Overall, the two reductions have cost Tapp $2.25 million in salary.
Follow Brian McIntyre on Twitter _@brianmcintyre_.
