Quote
ArizonaRamFan
This is a more difficult situation than I originally perceived. I knew Donald was hella good, and the author calmly tallied up each way that Donald was outperforming his peers and his contract. Edge rushers, run/pass general badassery, interior linemen, no one can hold a candle to Donald and that new contract is going to STING somebody. And here I am, hoping that the contract BITES the Rams? I guess I still am because I'm fond of the guy, but he is going to make it HARD to do some deals.
I've moved from "just do what it takes to sign him" into the camp of "...hmmm, actually how much can we get out of him first?" One good point the article notes is that cap space has been rising rapidly each year, making 3-year-old bank robbery contracts actually look like decent deals. But we have no guarantee the cap space will continue to rise at that rate, right? The NFL is still growing, but is it still the leaps and bounds regarding revenue, market share, etc etc etc? Wasn't attendance down sharply for 2016? What if we're in a situation come 2019 or 2020 (say) where salary cap actually doesn't tick up at all or even shrink?? These giant NFL albatross salaries better be for the guy who can just-about single-handedly win the game for you (A QUARTERBACK AND NO ONE ELSE), regardless of how transcendent a DT is at his position.
It took me a little while, but I'm seeing clearly now. There's never any disrespect or dismissal of AD as a player. It's simply a numbers game: making the most impact with your dollar, even if it means letting a top player (at his position) hit the street.
There ya go, ARF. Spoken like a man that owns a business himself. Lol.
There is a middle ground somewhere that can make both parties happy. I'm sure that they'll find it since both sides have ample motivation.
