ESPN Reporter: NFL Owners Discussed a Separate QB Salary Cap

[CGI_Ram]

ESPN Reporter: NFL Owners Discussed a Separate QB Salary Cap

A salary cap for quarterbacks? Jeremy Fowler says it's been discussed.

www.thebiglead.com

ESPN Reporter: NFL Owners Discussed a Separate QB Salary Cap

ESPN NFL reporter Jeremy Fowler gave us a very interesting tidbit of information on Thursday morning's edition of Get Up. While discussing if Patrick Mahomes should be thinking about giving the Chiefs a discount on his next contract to make it easier for Kansas City to put good players around him, Laura Rutledge brought up the idea of a salary cap for quarterbacks that's entirely separate from a franchise's standard salary cap.

Fowler said that very idea had not only been discussed by NFL owners, but had even been brought to the players in CBA discussions.


View: https://twitter.com/sportsrapport/status/1225424129232384000?s=21


"It's been discussed," said Fowler. "The owners brought it to the players, and said, 'Look, the money's crazy, let's separate it.'"

"I was told there was not a lot of optimism that it would get passed, because it's very complicated, but it has been discussed for this very reason," Fowler finished.

Mahomes' new deal will be absolutely gigantic and will make it very difficult for the Chiefs to retain talent and recover from missed draft picks in free agency. This is a problem that every team with a good-to-great starter other than New England has encountered in recent years; QB salary is so inflated relative to other positions that even only above-average (at best) quarterbacks like Jared Goff receive record deals. But as quarterback salary has gone up, other positional salaries have remained the same, and so has the salary cap.

A QB-specific salary cap would reflect the monetary value of the position without obliterating a team's flexibility in the coming years. While it doesn't seem likely to come to fruition, it's an interesting idea, to say the least.

If money isn't an issue, teams with elite quarterbacks would be at a massive advantage in free agency. As it stands, teams with very good quarterbacks have to sell prospective free agents on the benefits of winning and playing with said quarterback, because the vast majority of the time, the salary cap numbers are too tight to outbid other suitors. But if these teams can offer the opportunity to play with an elite quarterback and present a competitive offer in terms of salary, how many players would say no?

An interesting thought exercise for your morning, even if we probably won't see it become reality.

 

[kurtfaulk]

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Seperate salary cap for qbs? What does that even mean?

The players get a percentage of the cut. The owners aren't gonna give them more than that. Whatever the qbs get it's coming out of the money pool the other players will be paid from every year.

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[Tano]

QB salary is so inflated relative to other positions that even only above-average (at best) quarterbacks like Jared Goff receive record deals

I really hate snide comments like this

 

[Kevin]

This is hilarious. The owners are trying to protect themselves from ... themselves.

 

[WarnerToBruce]

I've posted on this the last few years. This summer post sums up my take and my wrinkle on how they should handle the QB market rate issue:

Should the NFL put a salary cap on each position?

I've heard chatter that the NFL owners were thinking of putting a salary cap on the QB position. I've heard arguments on both sides that makes sense but will the players go for it in the new CBA? As fan I'm all for it. I think one player taking up at least 25% of the teams cap is insane. We've...

ramsondemand.com

 

[PhillyRam]

They could make it that only 70 or 75% of a QBs salary counts against the cap.

That way top paid QBs still affect their caps, just not at such a killer number.

Would provide some relief at least.

 

[Jacobarch]

I like this. I might be in the minority here but this will only help the game be more competitive

 

[OldSchool]

Interesting idea but not sure they’ll implement it well. The league and union rarely do things well.

 

[Merlin]

Players will care more about the total percentage of income they get with the cap. So introducing a QB cap from the NFL side because teams can't control themselves should come with a 5% or whatever increase in share to the players.

I kind of like seeing teams need to maneuver around the minefield that is QB contracts though. So hope they don't do this.

 

[PhillyRam]

Players will care more about the total percentage of income they get with the cap. So introducing a QB cap from the NFL side because teams can't control themselves should come with a 5% or whatever increase in share to the players.

I kind of like seeing teams need to maneuver around the minefield that is QB contracts though. So hope they don't do this.

Its up to the owners really.

They can make the cap whatever with the players & the CBA agreement, but are the owners willing to say we will only count x% of our QBs cap figure towards the total cap... Which is a bonus to all the players since that essentially increases the amount available to spend.

Maybe they can make it voluntary like MLB does with the luxury tax.

Say the Rams are willing to pay a "luxury tax" to only count 70% of Goff's deal towards the cap. Then they pay a tax on that 30% that they are not counting. And say that tax gets divided up between the remaining owners?

Seems like a win win for all.

 

[Ram65]

It doesn't seem like it can work.

Maybe the Cowgirls should let Dak Prescot an average QB go to free agency.

 

[Merlin]

I think Dak and his contract negotiations are a big reason this came up lol.

 

[Zaphod]

This is beyond stupid.

The real issue with quarterbacks being continually overvalued is related to the disparity with the offensive minds capable of understanding a more complete offensive system, and prioritizing those people is a common trend that is already having a positive effect, but it will take a few iterations of prioritizing the system to make that the competitive trend that corrects the current overvaluation of the quarterback position.

Instead, they discuss the one thing that will pretty much guarantee that it continues regardless of offensive system evolution. By isolating the quarterbacks salary, they'll only encourage every quarterback in the league to play at the cap level, so you'll only have rookie contracts and those at the quarterback maximum, which will have a negative impact on those seeking performance based compensation.

They should just get rid of the salary cap.

 

[Mackeyser]

I’m all for it and thought of this years ago.

 

[Karate61]

How about just telling the QB "No, we ain't paying you that much!"?

 

[WarnerToBruce]

How about just telling the QB "No, we ain't paying you that much!"?

What would Goff have done (and what would you have done?) when management told him this before his record extension?

Easier said than done, unfortunately. Just don't it against the cap at all. Solved.

 

[Flint]

I don’t think owners can be counted on to not do something stupid. The Chiefs aren’t going to play hardball with Mahomes, maybe Jerry puts his foot down but who knows what Dak’s market value is. Mahomes would reset the market but would it get in line with other positions? Usually the best players get the most money except for qbs, who get paid a premium. Maybe some team will finally let a qb walk rather than pay a crazy 2nd contract and go start over with a rookie.

 

[RhodyRams]

I think it would work, but can see complications down the road.

Would Lamar Jackson qualify if he runs more than he passes?

Players like Taysom Hill from the Saints plays several different positions, most of them not under center.

so would it be only the starting QB of each team? 1st and 2nd stringers?

 

[Reddog99]

I don't like the idea. Who would then be the Yankees of the NFL? Teams would basically be buying championships. I'd rather see them win it.