Quote:
Originally Posted by Aussie_Skins_Fan
It is simple business, supply and demand. There were only 3 good guards in this years FA and more than 3 teams wanting them, so therefore they get big money. There was only 1 elite corner and many teams looking to sign him so again he got a huge pay day!
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I agree that player contracts are determined by supply and demand. But do you really think that a great player under contract who is getting 1/3 of what Dockery is getting is really going to be persuaded from holding out by being shown supply/demand curves?
The market will correct itself, there's just a question as to how painful that correction is going to be. The fact is that many players were overpaid this offseason, in large part because of the few quality free agents. The problem is that other players look to such contracts to determine their worth. So, come next offseason, when players are looking to re-sign or hit free agency, their expectations are going to be skewed by this offseason.
I hate to admit it, but this article that was posted on PFT this morning is dead-on:
"The prevailing view in some league circles is that the Cowboys, Browns, Chargers, and Bills paid way too much money for Leonard Davis, Eric Steinbach, Kris Dielman, and Derrick Dockery, respectively. (Memo to Chargers fans: That fact that Dielman has been named as an alternate to the Pro Bowl doesn't mean that he has been named to the team.)
As we've previously noted, none of these guys have ever been named to a Pro Bowl. Yet each of them is swimming in over $15 million in guaranteed money.
So what happens when a true Pro Bowler on the offensive line hits the free-agent market? Will he get $25 million guaranteed? How about $30 million?
As we see it, these recent deals guarantee that the franchise tag will be used more often by teams to keep truly high-end players who become eligible for free agency, since the high-end players are going to look at the recent deals and say, "If a perennial underachiever like Davis is worth $18.75 million guaranteed, I'm worth twice that."
And that's the biggest problem with the combination of lots of cap space and a so-so free-agent class. The floor is getting pushed up for future deals, and the number will only continue to skyrocket.
It's true for other positions as well. If Nate Clements gets $80 million over eight years, what would a guy like Champ Bailey get? And how does a guy like Champ Bailey feel about a player who is clearly one step below him breaking the bank like Bailey never has?
Of course, Bailey isn't due to hit the market until 2011. In the interim, he's scheduled to make good salaries. But in light of the Clements deal, how can Champ not suddenly be thinking that he's underpaid.
Stay tuned. We have a feeling that many players will be privately -- or publicly -- having these same sentiments soon."