— it still takes two sides to strike a deal. Now more than ever, quarterbacks recognize they’re a business entity unto themselves, so they don’t necessarily need to rush into the big payday as much as they might have been inclined to do even a few years ago.“The reality is these guys aren’t taking hometown discounts anymore, and I wouldn’t either,” said an assistant coach, who along with other league officials in this story, was granted anonymity so that he could speak freely.
Burrow is already on the books for $5.545 million in 2023, so the parameters of his negotiations would open with $119.749 million guaranteed over four years, factoring in his current salary, the fifth-year option and two franchise tags. Using the same model, it’d be $118.438 million for Herbert and $112.609 million for Tagovailoa. Hurts’ deal would require $82.304 million guaranteed through three years.
And presumably, that’s just the launching point. The contracts will almost certainly exceed those projections. “It depends if you identify that person as a franchise quarterback or not,” another executive said. “If it’s Tua, I’m going to wait. If it’s Herbert or Burrow, it probably behooves you to engage earlier. Otherwise, the price is going to go up. If they have good representation and you’re immediately eligible after three years, you have year four, the fifth-year option and two tags, so there is some leverage on the club side.“I’m sure you can reach some compromise.
Tua? Really?
great use of “behooves” here