Are second contracts worth their value?

[Cmac]

Ultimately it is Jerry's fault for both ..... but that doesn't mean the players & agents aren't to blame as well.

I don't blame Zeke for trying to force his pay because it's long established they will use a RB up and never fairly pay him for what he provided. The fact that Zeke is done proves the point. Did we get the value? No, probably not. But you are paying for all the blocking not just the running so you did get production. If we are being honest, it's the blocking that has taken more of a toll on him than the running. Having said that, I would not have given him everything Jerry gave him in that contract. But at least Zeke had shown elite production up to that point.

Dak had not shown anything close to elite production and in fact all the warts that have been his downfall were in plain view if you were willing to look. So, Jerry should have stuck to his guns and if Dak declined they should have let him walk. Today all this drama would be on some other team's message board.

Can't dispute.....but Dak "robbed" based on market value......not robbing on being a highest paid. We ain't never had an elite QB (please don't say Romo though he got paid like one) outside of Staubach. Troy was a system QB, but a damn good one. Can we agree on that?

 

[Whirlwin]

So lets just let everyone walk and keep drafting rookies as their replacements...

Yes, SOME, second contracts are worth it.

Tell that to Bill Belichick. Release the player trade them for draft picks. That’s why he was great for so long every year he had two or three number one draft picks in this pocket.

 

[MyFairLady]

Zeke is a schlub. Anyone who defends him or the contract he received is truly lost. Ultimately Jerry is the one who enables every dysfunctional aspect of this team but that does not mean that we do not get to dump on the players who end up being turds. At the end of the day that is all we can do as fans. Praise those who deserve praise. Ridicule those who deserve ridicule.

 

[Verdict]

Second contracts are not a bad thing, but overpaying IS bad. Kearse turned out to be an outstanding contract as a free agent.
Hankins trade was a great trade. The bang for the buck on those two guys was outstanding. Neither of them were on rookie deals.

Mega deals usually end up being bad deals because in order for the player to justify his salary he must play at an elite level for the entirety of his contract just to break even on the contract. The odds of that are stacked against you.

 

[kskboys]

Can't dispute.....but Dak "robbed" based on market value......not robbing on being a highest paid. We ain't never had an elite QB (please don't say Romo though he got paid like one) outside of Staubach. Troy was a system QB, but a damn good one. Can we agree on that?

No. Troy was so good he did what won. Not having huge numbers does not mean a QB was no good.

Meredith was also elite.

 

[Verdict]

Let's get something straight. These owners would love to only have to pay all of them the veterans minimum. Which is just disgusting in of itself. Thanks God for a union that mandates a certain percentage of NFL revenue HAS to go to the players.

Secondly, these men have played for free there entire lives for our entertainment. People are making money off of them on their entire journey until they get to the NFL. I know the NIL has just recently been adopted, but that is after DECADES of these young men creating generational wealth for lots of people but their OWN family.

The budget (salary cap) is something the OWNERS want in place. I know they say it is to create competitive balance. But it is also so they can become rich beyond the wildest imagination. I'm not pushing back on the owners getting their money, but why are we always questioning if players are worth what they are making? The players are who we show up to watch. The players are the people risking life, limb and life expectancy. I get the impression that no matter which player gets paid, there are fans that will simply hate the fact that they get paid.

If the owners choose the wrong players to compensate, the fans turn on the players, rarely the owners. And to be clear, I am not a Dak lover or hater....but Dak also won 13 games and had the Cowboys with homefield advantage during the 2016 postseason...making around 500k/year. I did not hear fans or owners complaining about how underpaid he is. That is the way the system is set up. He was a 4th round rookie. And he got paid what a 4th round rookie gets paid. Not what a 13 win QB with the best record in the NFC is worth.

Finally, if we had a competent front office...Dak would not be making ~50m dollars a year. Dak could have been had for 31 - 33m a year...but Jerry did not even want to pay that (see my note about owners really wish they only had to pay the vet min. for all of these guys). So he kicked the can down the road and wound up paying more. But at the end of the day...WE the fans suffer. Because in spite of not having won ANYTHING....the value of the franchise has gone up...Jerry will get his billions and Dak will get his 50m. And just to add a cherry on top...Jerry will be in the same seat next year he's always been...and Dak will be in the same seat next year that he was in this year....and the fans will show back up crossing our fingers that year 29 will be different.

The truth of the matter is the Cowboys were not sold on the idea that Dak was worth $30m per year. Then they paid him $40m per year. I think they were right the first time. He’s not worth $30m per year.

 

[kskboys]

The truth of the matter is the Cowboys were not sold on the idea that Dak was worth $30m per year. Then they paid him $40m per year. I think they were right the first time. He’s not worth $30m per year.

At the time, when Dak was begging for a shorter contract, I truly thought they should've given him a 3 year deal.

 

[NoLuv4Jerry]

The truth of the matter is the Cowboys were not sold on the idea that Dak was worth $30m per year. Then they paid him $40m per year. I think they were right the first time. He’s not worth $30m per year.

I agree that they did not even want to pay him 30m a year. If you don't want to pay what the market dictates when it comes to QBs. Have a plan and a strategy how you are going to build football teams that don't require paying a QB a lot of money. Have a coaching staff, culture and roster in place that allows you to plug the last player picked in the draft under center.....and not skip a beat. You cannot have it both ways. If you want to market stars and prop them up as stars...they are going to be want to be paid as such when they perform. Dak's numbers did suggest he was worth market value...but if you felt he wasn't, have a fall back plan.

 

[HMJYay]

Tyron's was worth it. Martin's was worth it. Some are, but it's the minority.

 

[charron]

There is no team with all players on rookie contracts. You have to give out contracts to other players. What you do not have to do is hand out max contracts to everyone

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

When you look at the QB's of the final 4 teams in the playoffs you have Purdy, Burrows, Hurts and Mahomes. Three of the four QB's are playing under their rookie contracts. Only Mahomes is making big money. No doubt Purdy, Burrows and Hurts will all cash in on their next contract but at what expense to the team? Is QB's like Dak, Rogers, Brady, Carr....ect worth 40 Million Dollars more than Purdy, Burrows and Hurts? HELL NO! How in the world did we get to the point where average QB are making 40 million Dollars PER YEAR?? Think how much 40 Million dollars really is. Now if there was no salary cap then by all means a GM he can pay a QB whatever he wants. But in a league of salary caps how can you justify paying 1/4 of your team's salary into 1 player? Something is broken!

When it comes to running backs......The days of giving a RB a second big contract should be over. We all no matter how great RB are when they come out of college, they very seldom worth the big money they are paid in the second contract. When you have a QB making 1/4 the of the team's salary, and you are paying a wore down RB a big salary you are pretty much doomed. When you're talking millions of dollars, who can say Zeke has been more productive than Pollard? Who can say Zeke's production was Millions of dollars over Malik Davis??

No doubt its time to let Zeke go, but what about Pollard? Do we sign him to a Multi-Million dollar contract or do we go with someone like Jerrick Mckinnon and Malik Davis and draft another RB in the 5th? Now of course these are just names in a hypothetical scenario. Let's face it all of them are PRO football players and damn good athletes, but at what price are you willing to pay when you have a limited bank account and 50 + others you have to pay? Is the 150.00 Tomahawk steak that much better than the 40.00 Ribeye when shopping on a 300.00 budget??

This is no way a shot at Dak or Zeke. It's more a question of are second contracts really worth the money these guys are paid? Far too often we see these guys get paid and they lose their drive or their bodies just cant handle the wear and tear.

ok, this is this year's flavor of how to build a team. Last year, it was all the rage of dumping draft picks and going the FA and trade route, now hey, 3 out of 4 are on rookie contract, so that's the way. Same was said when Mahomes won on his rookie contract and it was all the rage.

so what are you going to do not resign mahomes and go draft? because 3, out of 4 are on rookie contracts? is it that you win a superbowl in the first 5 years of a rookie QB and then dump and go drafting? is Cinci not to extend Burrow? let him walk and be somebody else cap problem? Should the bills done the same with Allen? so I guess SD either wins the superbowl or just walks away from Herbert.

SF lucked into Purdy. they didn't know what they had in him. is he better than Lance? if yes, then why did they start Lance, then Grapolo and then Purdy was third on the depth chart.

this is a crystal ball effect.....

 

[DuncanIso]

owners benefit on the front side of the contract.

the players on the 2nd contract.

 

[Cas2800]

Look at recent Dallas second contracts:

Jaylon Smith
Demarcus Lawrence
Zeke Elliott
Dak Prescott


All of them regressed since getting their new deals (and in the case if Smith he was released) so why would anyone think second contracts in Dallas are worth it?

Thank good they didn’t pay Randy Gregory!

 

[Wangchung83]

Dak sucks dak sucks dak sucks. Lol I have to repeat myself all the time on this board

 

[conner01]

So lets just let everyone walk and keep drafting rookies as their replacements...

Yes, SOME, second contracts are worth it.

You can’t build a roster without handing out some second contracts. Two types of players you have to keep. Elite players like Martin when he was extended, Tyron when he was extended
The other are players at positions hard to get equal players at, such as pass rushers and QB’s

 

[Verdict]

At the time, when Dak was begging for a shorter contract, I truly thought they should've given him a 3 year deal.

Yeah, I think that 4th year was initially wanted for cap accounting reasons.

 

[Verdict]

ok, this is this year's flavor of how to build a team. Last year, it was all the rage of dumping draft picks and going the FA and trade route, now hey, 3 out of 4 are on rookie contract, so that's the way. Same was said when Mahomes won on his rookie contract and it was all the rage.

so what are you going to do not resign mahomes and go draft? because 3, out of 4 are on rookie contracts? is it that you win a superbowl in the first 5 years of a rookie QB and then dump and go drafting? is Cinci not to extend Burrow? let him walk and be somebody else cap problem? Should the bills done the same with Allen? so I guess SD either wins the superbowl or just walks away from Herbert.

SF lucked into Purdy. they didn't know what they had in him. is he better than Lance? if yes, then why did they start Lance, then Grapolo and then Purdy was third on the depth chart.

this is a crystal ball effect.....

Dak is in that talent level that you don’t want to see him walk and you can’t afford to pay him $40m per year and win with him. It’s a bad spot to be in for the team.

Mahomes is in an entirely different tier.

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

Dak is in that talent level that you don’t want to see him walk and you can’t afford to pay him $40m per year and win with him. It’s a bad spot to be in for the team.

Mahomes is in an entirely different tier.

I am not saying that, the statement was general as to "hey look, 3 of 4 QBs are on rookie deal".... and last year it was hey look at rams, trade everything, and build through FA....

and again, somebody mentions Mahomes or anybody else in a comment about Dak and everybody immediately makes comparisons.

like I said, teams over draft QBs. teams over pay QBs. its not a cowboys issue. its a NFL issue.

and if not Dak, then lets figure out who? who do you have? what's the option? do we draft a QB every 4 years and dump the old? what's your plan..this complaining about Dak and his contract but I don't have any other idea that's better doesn't work. it is what it is. just complaining.

please don't say Rush as an option , because you will lose all creditability at that point.

 

[TwentyOne]

When you look at the QB's of the final 4 teams in the playoffs you have Purdy, Burrows, Hurts and Mahomes. Three of the four QB's are playing under their rookie contracts. Only Mahomes is making big money. No doubt Purdy, Burrows and Hurts will all cash in on their next contract but at what expense to the team? Is QB's like Dak, Rogers, Brady, Carr....ect worth 40 Million Dollars more than Purdy, Burrows and Hurts? HELL NO! How in the world did we get to the point where average QB are making 40 million Dollars PER YEAR?? Think how much 40 Million dollars really is. Now if there was no salary cap then by all means a GM he can pay a QB whatever he wants. But in a league of salary caps how can you justify paying 1/4 of your team's salary into 1 player? Something is broken!

When it comes to running backs......The days of giving a RB a second big contract should be over. We all no matter how great RB are when they come out of college, they very seldom worth the big money they are paid in the second contract. When you have a QB making 1/4 the of the team's salary, and you are paying a wore down RB a big salary you are pretty much doomed. When you're talking millions of dollars, who can say Zeke has been more productive than Pollard? Who can say Zeke's production was Millions of dollars over Malik Davis??

No doubt its time to let Zeke go, but what about Pollard? Do we sign him to a Multi-Million dollar contract or do we go with someone like Jerrick Mckinnon and Malik Davis and draft another RB in the 5th? Now of course these are just names in a hypothetical scenario. Let's face it all of them are PRO football players and damn good athletes, but at what price are you willing to pay when you have a limited bank account and 50 + others you have to pay? Is the 150.00 Tomahawk steak that much better than the 40.00 Ribeye when shopping on a 300.00 budget??

This is no way a shot at Dak or Zeke. It's more a question of are second contracts really worth the money these guys are paid? Far too often we see these guys get paid and they lose their drive or their bodies just cant handle the wear and tear.

I think the position depends heavily on your strategy to build the team.

You usually try to build one whole group in a team. For instance the whole OL, whole DL or whole WRs corp. That because it is too easy for other teams to scheme a player out if you have only one strong player in a unit.

So if your strategy is to have a great OL you pay primarily your OL players a second contract and then make cuts at other positions.

But imo in todays NFL it is no question that you never give a RB a second contract.

You only give your QB a second contract if you for sure know he is elite. Else you prepare yourself being set if you have to cut him after 4 or 5 years.