| Josh Allen’s new deal was great news for Baker Mayfield and really good news for Lamar Jackson. Before that, Patrick Mahomes’ contract was good news for everybody, but especially Deshaun Watson. Watson’s deal was good news for Dak Prescott. And Dak Prescott’s agreement with the Cowboys was particularly good news for Josh Allen. And round and round it goes, the National Football League’s quarterback money trail, ever-expanding and seemingly unstoppable, putting smiles on the faces of signal-callers around America and conjuring up financial windfalls that makes your eyes pop at every turn. Allen’s whopping deal with the Buffalo Bills is the latest QB agreement, committing the team to an additional six years and $258 million at an average of $43 million per year. That’s so, so much money isn’t it? No matter if you’re an oil heir, a Hollywood icon, a hedge fund guru or a lottery winner, it’s just an absolute ton of cash. But soon, way sooner than you think, it may seem cheap. “Good for the quarterback position overall,” was Mayfield’s evaluation of the Allen contract, when asked by reporters at Cleveland Browns practice. “I’d be lying if I said otherwise.” No need to lie, Baker, because everyone sees it. The QBs around the league see it, because hey, however focused you are on your game, the mere knowledge that your position is capable of generating such spectacular salary figures is not something that can be ignored. It’s not just that, though. The QB market, because it is the figurehead position directly tied to each franchise’s hopes and dreams, is its own thing. If it had a motto it would sound something like: “never a backward step,” because that’s how it goes. Each new deal has to be bigger, better, bolder than the last one that was remotely similar to it. Which is how Allen ends up hooking $43 million for a campaign’s work just three years after Aaron Rodgers was pretty pleased to get an average of $33.5 million. Thought the housing market was hot? Inflation goes at warp speed here and what was a tremendous time to be a QB just keeps getting better, except for you know, the whole part about those mean-spirited defensive lineman who want to flatten you. A signature QB is the shiniest of status symbols but having one not only increases the likelihood of winning a Super Bowl but also the perception of progress, and it’s easier to sell season tickets and merch when everyone is feeling buoyant about the future. Nothing generates that sentiment more than a stud under center. Here is where the GMs are over a barrel in negotiations. Being unwilling to match or surpass the last deal that went to someone else’s QB is basically a tacit admission that their star is better than yours. That might work if the other player is Mahomes, not so much for anyone else. If Allen had been coming to the table without the precedents of Mahomes, Watson and Prescott, an offer of, say, $36 million per year would have seemed both generous and appropriate. It would have put Allen ahead of Russell Wilson and Rodgers, solidified the reality that the Bills see him calling the shots for the next several years and served as an indicator of a desire to maximize this window of opportunity for a strong and improving team. But once Mahomes got his game-changing money (10 years, up to $503 million), Watson (four years, $156 million) was never going to agree to something that didn’t at least get close to it and the Texans had to give it or else it would have seemed they didn’t believe in their ultra-talented QB. And the Cowboys, once they decided Prescott was their guy moving forward, had to give it up to the tune of four years, $160 million or else it would indicate a lack of confidence in the former Mississippi State star. “If the Cowboys don’t have Dak healthy, their season is a wash,” FS1’s Joy Taylor said on “First Things First.” And well, once Prescott got that much, Allen, who threw for 37 touchdowns against 10 interceptions last season and took the Bills all the way to the AFC Championship Game, was always going to be in the running for measurably more. With the Allen domino from the 2018 NFL Draft having fallen, now Cleveland and Baltimore are on the clock, with Mayfield and Jackson. We will see how it turns out. Really? We already know how it turns out. They’re going to get a lot of money. The Ravens can’t get away with offering the ultra-athletic 2019 MVP Jackson less than Allen – expect him to land a contract around the $45 million per year mark. Allen, Jackson’s people can argue, is coming off only one great year, albeit a truly excellent one. As for Mayfield, he’s not at that same level but will be more than happy to ride along in the slipstream. If he doesn’t pocket something approaching the mid 30s, it would be a surprise and he knows it. That’s what it’s like being a modern QB. Not everyone has to love you, but play reasonably well and the deck will be stacked in your favor, one seismic contract laying a path for the next. “I’m happy for Josh,” Mayfield added. Of course you are Baker, for why would you not be? Here’s what others have said … Marcellus Wiley, FOX Sports (on Josh Allen): “He did things Jim Kelly never did. He did things that you haven’t seen another quarterback in a Buffalo Bills uniform do.” Emmanuel Acho, FOX Sports (on Josh Allen): “The Bills didn’t commit too soon but they may have committed too much too soon.” Stefon Diggs, Buffalo Bills Wide Receiver: “I was just happy that it got done. Because he’s a hell of a quarterback, and after this season, his price tag probably would have went up a little higher, too. So, I want to be with him for a little while, so hopefully it can happen, but I was happy for him.” |
