Wilkinson Gets Biggest Bonus, $14.4-Million Deal

Dan Wilkinson finally lived up to his nickname Thursday.

After signing a $14.4-million contract with the Cincinnati Bengals, the rookie defensive lineman known as “Big Daddy” was handed a $5-million bonus check.

He promptly said he would give part of it to his mother, Veronda; part of it to his Dayton high school, part of it to officials at Ohio State and part of it to his nine siblings.

“One of the neat things about this is watching an athlete retrace his roots,” said agent Leigh Steinberg.

The six-year contract was notable not only for its size--Wilkinson received the largest bonus ever given an NFL rookie--but in the swiftness of its settlement.

Wilkinson, the top pick in the NFL draft 12 days ago, was expected to go through a contract fight with the notoriously stingy Bengals.

Until just moments before the Bengals phoned Wilkinson and told him he was being drafted first, many thought they would trade the pick to the New England Patriots because they couldn’t afford him.

“We went about it and did things that maybe we would not have done before,” said Bengal General Manager Mike Brown. “The total amount is more than I ever thought I’d live to sign off on, but here we are. It’s what’s happening in the game today.”

As part of the deal, Wilkinson, 6 feet 4 and 308 pounds, can tear up the contract after four years if he is in for 35% of the plays this season.

His signing is expected to be the first of many lucrative contracts given to first-round draft picks since the rookie salary cap was increased by nearly 19% over last year’s. The increase was a result of higher ticket sales and television money leaguewide.

“I want to get to work as soon as possible--I don’t want to miss anything,” said Wilkinson, who at 14 was anointed by his family as the one who would provide support after his father’s sudden death.

“The people in Ohio have known me all my life,” he said. “It will be great to get in there and perform for them.”