Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Next QB deal in the NFC North
By Tim Kavanagh
The New England Patriots' new deal with franchise icon Tom Brady, as reported by Peter King of Sports Illustrated on Monday, was a bit of a shock to the economic system of the NFL: for just $27 million, the Pats extended Brady's time with the team for three more seasons, through his age-40 campaign in 2017. So how does that affect the three QBs in the NFC North who are eyeing a new deal themselves within the near future?
In the opinion of Kevin Seifert, who covers the division for ESPN.com, there won't be much of an impact. Seifert also gives his take on which of the three -- Aaron Rodgers, Jay Cutler and Matthew Stafford -- will get his momentous new contract first:
Kevin Seifert
Brady deal impact in the division"Brady's deal is such an outlier, and the motivations are so clear -- a well-paid Hall of Fame quarterback wants to leave salary-cap space available for a final run to the Super Bowl as he approaches his 40th birthday -- that it would be difficult for a team to argue he brought the market down. It's not like the Drew Brees deal vanished as a result. Like it or not, agents will continue to consider it the benchmark for future elite deals. The guess is that the Detroit Lions' Matthew Stafford will be the first NFC North quarterback to complete his new contract, given the salary cap implications. Stafford probably won't reach Brees money, but it won't be because of the Brady deal. Unless proven otherwise, I'll assume the Brady contract will stand on its own in terms of market direction."
