Big contract, small return

By Darren Myers

We have reached the point where $100 million contracts are no longer a spectacle, rather, they’re a common occurrence. But the question being asked is, who is really worth that money?

Top of the line players are offered $100 million dollar contracts, or, at least players that teams think are top of the line. It’s not a number we’re unfamiliar with: Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Cam Newton and Drew Brees. These are only some of the players whom have inked the sacred $100 million contract. 

The players know they’re making a lot of money and some even outwardly say it. When asked “Do NFL players get paid too much money?” during an interview with WWL Radio, Drew Brees said, “Yes, we probably do.”

“That’s the industry that we’re in. You could probably say the same for actors, actresses and entertainers. We’re in the entertainment industry, and business is business, and there is a market. The market establishes what you get paid,” Brees added.

The problem with these NFL contracts is that they seem to have been given at the wrong time. Roethlisberger, Brees, Wilson, and Joe Flacco, signed their $100 million contracts after winning their respective Super Bowls. The following seasons for those players? Some of these seasons have been fine, while others have ended in disaster. The common theme? None of these players have won a Super Bowl after inking the big deal. 

According to spotrac.com, a website that lists the salaries of all professional sports athletes, this past season, Aaron Rodgers was the NFL’s richest man, earning $22 million. He was then followed by Russell Wilson earning $21.9 million and then Roethlisberger at $21.8 million. While these three quarterbacks are top-tier players and are always contending for titles, they have yet to reach for the pinnacle again after reaching for the cash. 

The Seattle Seahawks won the Super Bowl with Russell Wilson as their quarterback, then inked him a deal (not quite $100 million, but very close) and he carried them back to the Super Bowl where they lost, albeit, from a call that will be questioned for years. 

Joe Flacco inked a $100 million contract and hasn’t been to the playoffs in two consecutive years.

Andy Dalton is a part of the $100 million club and he has yet to win a single playoff game.

Colin Kaepernick inked a $126 million contract and was benched this season in favor of Blain Gabbert. In 2015, Kapernick made $19 million sitting on the bench for over half of the season.

So, why? Why do teams continue to pay the big bucks after they have seemingly gotten the best they could out of a player? 

The answer is: because teams are scared. Teams are scared that since they won the Super Bowl with that particular quarterback that they could lose what allowed them to win, so they have to keep the essential piece to the puzzle. 

The problem with that logic, however, is that when you ink one player to a deal that large, you lose cap space for other role players. As all fans know, football is the ultimate team game. Teams can’t win with one player.

These large deals show nothing but arrogance, ignorance, and the inability to plan for the future.

Aquib Talib said it himself in a post-game interview on the set of NFL Network, “I’m ready to win another one, man,” insinuating that he is ready to win back-to-back Super Bowls. Well, the odds of that are low, and not because the Broncos aren’t a great team, but because they have some decisions to make this offseason. 

Brock Osweiler is a free agent. Super Bowl MVP, Von Miller is a free agent. CJ Anderson is a free agent. All of these players want paid. It is unlikely the Broncos can afford all three of these key players, and, because of Miller’s performance in Super Bowl 50, he’ll most likely have first dibs at negotiating a contract. 

Rather than all of these players maintaining their current salary or taking what is known as the “hometown discount,” they’ll simply take their money and run. Instead of increasing their chances of being a part of a dynasty, a real NFL dynasty, players take what they think is theirs and run. Well, most players.

Tom Brady is the most significant figure who has not done that. He is one of the few to actually restructure in order to keep key players around him.  In 2015, Brady made $9 million. As stated before, Kaepernick made $19 million and he sat the bench all year long. Kaepernick isn’t the only one, just the most embarrassing. Other quarterbacks who made more money than Brady this year include: Flacco, Ryan Tannehill, Dalton, and Nick Foles. Foles was also replaced this season and forced to sit the bench. 

In 2014, Brady restructured his deal to free up cap space in an effort to help the Patriots maintain the dominant force they’ve been since the early 2000’s. 

Brady has taken it upon himself to do anything he can to get players around him to help the team succeed, even if that means making less money that Foles;  Brady knows that he has the opportunity to leave a lasting image on this league and he is going to do his best to do so.

Also, not only does it make Brady look like the ultimate team player, but it makes everyone else look like a fool.

The restructuring doesn’t necessarily mean the player is losing money, rather, the money is being dispersed in different ways that helps the team as a whole. 

Other quarterbacks who have restructured to help their teams are Roethlisberger, Peyton Manning, and Brees. 

Seeing the name next to that much money certainly does a lot for a player, but do you know what does more? Wearing numerous Super Bowl rings on your hand.