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News broke this week about the massive deal that the Indianapolis Colts and quarterback Andrew Luck agreed on. When they say mega, this is what they were referring to. The deal is for six years worth reportedly $140 million, making him the highest paid NFL player in history. The deal includes $87 million guaranteed which is $20 million more than any other quarterback has ever received. Luck’s deal is a big step but how will it effect the rest of the league especially quarterbacks?
It’s a double-edged sword for all teams and players. For teams, it’s a major step in the right direction. It shows that a team is willing to take a gamble on a player, instead of trying to be overly careful of the future. Obviously, not all teams will feel this way but it could help teams who are on the fence; perhaps Washington will take this approach with Kirk Cousins.
Speaking of Cousins, that brings up another point. Teams might be less hesitant to pull the trigger now. The Colts threw Luck an enormous pile of money as an investment. They’re investing in what they believe Luck can do for the team and the franchise. If he fails, the team will look dumb and make Luck look like a huge waste of money. That’s a scary thought for the rest of the league. It’s scary to think about what teams will do with that idea. For instance last year, the Carolina Panthers invested in Cam Newton and it paid off big time. A trip to the Super Bowl a good pay out from their investment, but investing in Sam Bradford looks like a horrible decision now. With Chip Kelly gone and Carson Wentz the clear franchise QB, the Eagles and Bradford both look dumb.
As for the players, in Bleacher Report’s article on Luck’s mega contract, they shared reactions of various players. Here are two reactions, “Nobody is worth that. God isn’t worth that.”, “What? Get the f–k out of here!” which are completely justified reactions from defensive players who will likely never see that amount of money based on their position alone. Quarterbacks have become a mockery of what they used to be. More than half of the NFL teams have franchise players in their quarterback. Look at Andrew Luck, Phillip Rivers, Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Russell Wilson who are all the faces of their franchise. That’s a huge slap in the face to the other players on the team. Vince Wilfork shared that sentiment in his feature for the Body Issue and it’s true. The defensive players and offensive line are the ones who do all the dirty work without receiving anywhere near the salary of a quarterback.
Quarterbacks are trained to try to avoid a hit while line players are trained to take them. Quarterbacks will look at Luck’s deal and want what he has. For example, look at Derek Carr. Carr is a young quarterback who has all the pieces of a great team for the most part but ended up in third place for the division. He works hard, is smart and doesn’t make trouble off the field. By those guidelines, Carr deserves a contract similar to that of Luck.
Quarterbacks who are nothing like Luck will get contracts like his. Say for instance if Colin Kaepernick demanded a similar contract. Kaepernick and Luck are two very different quarterbacks with Luck as the superior while Kaepernick is mediocre, but he has brought a team to the Super Bowl. If Kaepernick got a huge contract like that, we would all laugh but with Luck, we all understand.
No matter how you feel about Luck, his contract is historic and will be until another team decides to risk it all on one player. His contract shows the major divide between positional salaries and the difference between franchise quarterbacks and average quarterbacks. As for the future, time will only tell if teams either mimic or reject the Colts strategy. All I know is the NFL won’t go back to how it was ten years ago, five years ago, one year ago or even one month ago.
