The Julio Jones contract situation is once again another example of a situation that seems to be more common each year: Player A signs a huge deal that makes him one of the highest paid players at Position X. However, due to the NFL salary cap increasing year by year, the next season/offseason Player B signs a contract that sets a new ceiling for how much players at Position X make. Soon after more guys at Position X sign deals for more or the same as Player A. Now Player A, who only a year or two ago was feeling great about how much money they earned, feels under-compensated, and this creates unnecessary drama for both the player and their team.
Don’t get me wrong I get where Julio and others in his situation are coming from. Football is a brutal game and most guys make the bulk of their career earnings from their 2nd contract. Julio is a top 3 WR and wants to be compensated as such, but what’s happening to him is normal. When Julio signed his contract prior to the 2015 season, he got the 2nd most money ever given to a WR, so he definitely wasn’t underpaid. Now Julio is “only” 9th in annual salary among WR, making $14.3 million a year, just $2.7 million less than Antonio Brown, the highest paid WR in annual money. Julio has made $63 million in his NFL career. By the time his contract ends, he is on pace to have made $97 million, not including endorsements, and will still be 31 years old. Julio and the Falcons have just delayed the problem, which is sometimes all you can do. No doubt they will face this problem again soon, as will many other teams and players.
The unfortunate news is there is no real solution. Star players could sign short-term (1 or 2 years contracts) that are fully guaranteed and continuously make them one of the highest paid players at their position. However, if they were to get injured, it could cost them tens of millions, and in such a physical game like football that’s a risk most players don’t want to take. The alternative to the short-term contracts is to sign a long-term deal that gives them lots of guaranteed money and long-term security. The downside is that by the middle or the end of long-term contracts, some players feel underpaid. The risk-reward of long-term contracts is much better than that of short-term contracts, so most star players choose the long-term option. Because of that, situations like Jones’s will continue to be some of the most intriguing stories surrounding training camp for years to come.
Wheelhouse Blog 