Darian Durant’s new deal with Alouettes a calculated gamble

The Montreal Alouettes have officially announced the contract extension for quarterback Darian Durant – first reported by 3DownNation’s Justin Dunk days ago – and he certainly got his money.

Terms of Durant’s deal w/ Als, per #CFL sources: 3-year deal worth $1.25 million. Year 1 $400,000 guaranteed, 225k of it in a signing bonus.

— Arash Madani (@ArashMadani) January 19, 2017

Assuming that’s true – and Madani’s sources are pretty damn good – then Durant got exactly the contract the Riders were unwilling to pay him: $400K in guaranteed money and multiple years.

In other words, Durant got just above middle-of-the-pack QB money for #CFL standards. What Montreal was willing to pay, that Sask wasn’t.

— Arash Madani (@ArashMadani) January 19, 2017

With Hamilton’s Zach Collaros and Edmonton’s Mike Reilly at the top of the table ($520K), Durant’s deal puts him in the same bracket as newly-resigned Matt Nichols (who got $400K from the Bombers) but below Bo Levi Mitchell ($460K) and Trevor Harris ($420K.)

It’s something of a gamble given Durant’s age – he’ll be 35 in August – and injury history (he hasn’t played a full season since 2010.) But if he stays healthy and leads the Alouettes back to the post-season, he’ll be worth every penny: it’s the going rate for a proven quarterback in a league where play at the position is paramount.

And of course going into a CFL season without a proven starting quarterback is also a gamble. With Durant locked down, every team in the league would seem to have an established starter in place.

Except Saskatchewan.