Quote
cool_hand_luke
Yes. Haha. Did my best to reply directly to your message but I feel where you are coming from.
Quote
cool_hand_luke
If you define worth from what someone will pay then yes you are correct. My definition of worth is the player performing at a level equal to the amount they are paid.
Your statement/definition to me is simplistic and ignores the critical decision making in signing a QB long term for 25+ million. It is a crucial franchise altering choice.
The problem with 2nd contracts is, they don't follow the "how much is he worth as a player" model. Just to be clear on that, there's a kind of set amount for each position and it goes up each year with the cap. So last year for example both Cooks and Watkins got around 16 M because that's what starting WRs were getting for 2nd contracts last year (though over the years a handful of elite WRs have gotten more than market). Were Garappolo and Cousins each worth around 27-28 M last year? Doesn't matter because that's what the 2nd contract amount was for starting caliber qbs. That's just how the 2nd contract market works.
In terms of paying a qb a big cap hit, there have been discussions of that, with people looking at the numbers. From what I have seen, teams with big contract qbs win all the time. I would say that 50% of the qbs on winning teams have big contracts. (Last year that included Brady, Luck, Rivers, Brees, Roethlisberger, Cousins, and Wilson. In other years it has also included Rodgers, Newton, and Ryan). You have to draft well for it to work, and be smart in free agency. But it's a doable thing. It;s done all the time.