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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chaka
Well, I wasn’t really apologizing for the tone of my post – more like trying set the tone of the post at the outset because I was going to disagree with most of what you said. People with thin skin can get irritated with that, and it ends up getting in the way of a meaningful discussion because they assume that I’m trying to insult them. To your credit, you don’t seem to be that way.
As to the substance of your response, I disagree. I am resisting the urge to put together a really long – and perhaps boring – post (but it’s far too late, I sense many of you thinking), so I’ll just set out the points of my disagreement for simplicity’s sake:
1. The franchise tag is part of the collective bargaining agreement, so it has been revisited, tweaked and renegotiated as well. It is current just like the collective bargaining agreement.
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2011 is not current, it will be 2019 in a few days.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chaka
2. The RB position is subject to the same market forces as the QB position, and the market currently values RB much less than QB. By the way it’s calculated, the franchise tag will naturally adjust whatever the market value of a particular position is, so it doesn’t make sense to saying that it’s been outpaced by the cap. According to this NFL.com article, the highest paid RB in 2018 is Todd Gurley at $15 million. Second highest is Davonta Freeman at just over $8 million.
http://www.nfl.com/photoessays/0ap30...-running-backs |
The tag was
created so teams could keep their best players. It was
designed so that it puts pressure on the team to sign the player to a long term contract or let them go. But it is doing neither in Bell's case.
The cap is growing faster than contracts can keep up. That makes the tag numbers unreliable because they are not reflecting the current value, just the past value of contracts made under a smaller cap. The market is behind, but it is starting to catch up. A host of young backs will start to get paid soon. Gurley is an example of the new franchise RB that will get bigger contracts. Bell and Elliot will be next, then Kamara, maybe Hunt, then Barkley. But the current window penalizes Bell because the contract number the tag draws its own estimate from does not reflect the emerging importance of do-it-all backs today. If Gurley didn't sign that contract Bell's number would be even lower. The ever-increasing cap benefits the teams and gives them an unfair advantage by allowing them franchise tag numbers they can afford unless you are a QB or pass rusher. To me that is bad design.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chaka
3. Yes, I suppose Bell is free to take his ball and go home, but I think it’s really unwise for several reasons:
a. He’s giving up a year’s salary in his prime. And that salary would be the second highest RB salary in football.
b. By staying he would have forced himself into free agency like Cousins did.
c. He alienates his former teammates, most of whom work just as hard as he does but aren’t lucky enough to earn a cap designation, so his actions will look selfish.
d. He’s basically giving the NFLPA and their negotiators the finger
e. It won’t improve his market value to other teams if he’s viewed as a malcontent.
f. I really don’t think he’ll get a better contract through free agency, but I guess we’ll see.
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Ehh this seems like speculation. Age will be the biggest determining factor in Bell's next contract.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chaka
4. Sorry, I just don’t understand the point you are trying to make regarding the differences between the salaries paid to QBs and RBs. They are both subject to the same market forces, and the tag works the same as to both of them. If you think RBs should be paid more, the market disagrees with you.
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Correct, they are both subject to the same market forces, but the results are not the same. That is why it is a bad analogy, the outcomes differ. Why should one position be able to hit FA faster when if anyone needs to, it is RB's due to the shorter halflife. That is an inequality, and that undermines the spirit and design of the tag. It isn't the market that disagrees with me, it is the franchise tag. The market will adjust soon and agree with me. Gurley's contract shows that.