SI, Andrew Brandt: Elite QBs should not take less money to help their team

[TexasHillbilly]

This doesn't apply to Dak since he isn't elite. Just average/slightly above average.

Regardless if whether he is "elite" or not, why should he take a cut in pay? Would you take a cut in pay at your job? I bet not.

These owners are making millions, if not billions of dollars. Dak is an NFL qb and he just like other qb's in the league should get what they can while they can. You and others with your mindset would do the same thing if you were in Dak's shoes.

 

[MyFairLady]

I don't care how much players make and I don't care how much Owners make. What I care about is how it affects the team. Jerry can make a trillion dollars that does not help us win and it does not hurt our chances to win. Dak on his contract is looking like a negative contract. He needs to step up in the playoffs and help this team win. We are hurting our future to make his deal possible. That is not acceptable if it also hurts the present.

 

[FanofJerry]

Havent read this whole thread, maybe this has been discussed...

I have read Lebron's stance on this, as he is a generational talent going on 20 years in the NBA, his stance is simple and makes sense...

He claims that he has to take Max salary he can get or he is doing a disservice to professional basketball players. He claims that if the top players take less...it opens a huge door for FO's to apply pressure on players to take less than what they should get. "Come on, Brady did it...take a 5M haircut for the team"

But...I dont hear players from Tom's Tampa or New England teams claiming they were pressured during contract negotiations. Personally, I think its a non-issue, as I believe the player and the agent want as much as possible thus few players being pressured to take less.

 

[aikemirv]

Elite QB's can make up for the lack of talent on the team otherwise because of their salary. The problem is too many teams are paying this money to QB's who cannot take their team to the level that the few elite guys can

 

[CATCH17]

Here is the problem..


Paying QBs is good for business and maintaining relevancy..

Paying QBs is also awful for winning championships unless they are truly elite and even then it decreases your odds.

 

[Vtwin]

I think we need to start one of those internet gofund things for guys like Aikman, Staubach and all the old greats from an earlier area. Those guys played for peanuts relatively speaking. Surely they must be working at some crap job and living from paycheck to paycheck by now.

On another note... I'm so excited! I'm picking up my brand new boat tomorrow. It's a beauty! I got a great deal on it. The friendly guy at the boat place let me practically have it with only 500 bucks down and... get this.... NO payments for six months!!! Can you believe that? I'll be living high all summer on a practically free boat!

 

[JayFord]

if youre a qb that can lead a team to the playoffs you can ask for what you want

if you can get to a SB you can ask for 300 million

 

[BaybeeJay]

Interesting read since we have Dak's extension around the corner



https://www.si.com/nfl/2023/05/17/nfl-business-football-explaining-salary-cap

Separating Fact From Fiction Over How the NFL Salary Cap Works​

Andrew Brandt puts on his professor hat to clear up some myths about cash vs. cap, stars taking less money to help the team and more.

• ANDREW BRANDT
• 10 HOURS AGO

Myth No. 2: Elite players should take less to “help the team win”

No.

Less cap? Sure. Less cash? No.

If top players, especially quarterbacks, want to facilitate the signing of other important players on the team—we can debate whether that is their role, but even if we allow for it—there is a way they can easily do that, and hundreds of players have. They can simply do a cap restructure of their contracts: converting their large salaries into signing bonuses, thereby pushing out cap charges into the future years through proration. These are cap restructures done by every team in the NFL. The player receives the exact same money he was scheduled to receive, sometimes even with better cash flow and an earlier payment schedule.

The player is not sacrificing anything for the owner, if the owner uses savings to pay wages to other players. If total wages remains the same, the owner is not necessarily getting any favors.

Now if a player takes less cash and the owner pockets that savings, then the owner is exploiting.

 

[Cowboys5217]

No player should take less than what they are worth on the market.

Teams can play with cap numbers for years and still get under the ceiling even if they start 50mil in the red.
An AAV of 50 mil can be reduced to ~40-50% of that number for years.

Brady wouldn't have as many rings as he does if he maxxed out his contract demands, and no, teams can't just gimmick contracts like that away or else people like Brady wouldn't be willing to take a more team friendly deal.

 

[diamonddelts]

I agree. I wouldn't. A playing career is short.

From a team standpoint, you have to make the tough decisions, from the players standpoint, you have to get what you can while you can.

Well said.

 

[diamonddelts]

A couple of GOAT's, Jordan and Brady took less. Championships and greatness can actually get you even more money in the long run.

That is most definitely false. Jordan actually left Chicago and went to the Wizards over a contract dispute because he refused to take less money.

 

[diamonddelts]

There are no guarantees even if you did take less. Nevermind a historic run. Brady took less after a championship because he already knew at that point.

Agreed. Why take less money unless the GM can guarantee you a Super Bowl. If not, you are only helping out two billion dollar owners who wipe their derriere with million dollar contracts.

 

[diamonddelts]

Tony Romo, Ben Roethlisberger, Jimmy Garoppolo and a few others took less during their 2nd big contract extensions in order to help their team (and it did help).

This SI writer is absolutely wrong. Basic economics.

No Super Bowl win in most cases. That's about it. Why take a pay cut for the same ultimate conclusion? That is a sucker's deal.

 

[diamonddelts]

You guy keep saying Brady took less...he earned 525 million during his career...I Don't know where this myth came from he took less.....

Real talk.

 

[diamonddelts]

You guy keep saying Brady took less...he earned 525 million during his career...I Don't know where this myth came from he took less.....

Real t

Y'all keep saying Romo took less and I Do not remember that. Every time Romo signed he was one of the highest paid QB's in the league. Jimmy G...

Yup his last contract was over fifty million dollars which was a huge deal at the time. People keep making up things here to further their own viewpoints.

 

[diamonddelts]

I don;'t agree with guys having to take less honestly. I would never do it. Why? Because these GM's have proven to be incompetent. Why would I take a pay cut for you to give it to Jaylon Smith, Zeke and La'el Collins? What sense does that make? Or for you to spend it on a Nolan Carroll?

Yep. Why give up money so a low I.Q. gm can screw it off? No thank you.

 

[diamonddelts]

I don;'t agree with guys having to take less honestly. I would never do it. Why? Because these GM's have proven to be incompetent. Why would I take a pay cut for you to give it to Jaylon Smith, Zeke and La'el Collins? What sense does that make? Or for you to spend it on a Nolan Carroll?

Yep. Why give up money so a low I.Q. gm can screw it off?

Jimmy G signed a record contract. Room’s was the second highest ever and Ben only took less his final year after not his entire career (and being the highest cap hit in NFL for most of his last 5).

Truth hurts.

 

[diamonddelts]

You're not making sense bro. There is a salary cap in play. Very simple math to understand. Only so much of the pie available every year. How you slice up that pie and distribute it to as many key players is the difference between keeping a playoff team intact or just fielding a team for show.

Calculating fellow team members pay is not the job of any player. That is the job of a general manager. People keep falling for the crab in a bucket mentality which was put forth by the owners.

 

[Big_D]

Agreed. Why take less money unless the GM can guarantee you a Super Bowl. If not, you are only helping out two billion dollar owners who wipe their derriere with million dollar contracts.

This is Jerry.. lol I might take more in guaranteed cash or be willing to move things around to help the team, but I'm certainly not going to part with a huge sum. Even guys who might take a few dollars less aren't doing that.

 

[diamonddelts]

I’m going to take a big fat dump (deuce) on this take by the Brant guy. I can see why a player like Dak who was drafted late would want to get “paid” on his second contract.

But a guy like Rodgers should, at this point in his career, be ring chasing. He can make so much more money in endorsements by winning SBs like Brady that it more than compensates for the money he doesn’t take from the team.

Tom Brady is the most successful QB in history due to:

1. Playing in a bad division
2. Taking less than he should have been paid
3. With a great coach helping strategize wins.

Would you rather be Rodgers or Brady? I rest my case.

I would rather be paid with my joints intact.