Originally posted by Ottawa49er:
>>>Owners don't care about how much they're paying for players. This isn't you buying a new car, dude
Correct, this is nothing like me buying a car.....but what possible relevance does that have dude?
And while owners are bound by the Cap....they likely do care how much they are paying for players. For example, Jed York would care very much if Lynch paid 50% of the Cap to Bosa and 50% of the Cap to Purdy, because they could only sign two players. So they mostly let the front office allocate the contracts but some owners are likely very involved.......thinking Jerry Jones here.
>>>The only concern that matters in football is budgeting for the salary cap
Nope. The salary cap is definitely one of the concerns that matter in football though. Talent evaluation, contract construction, coaching, and many other things are a concern in football.
>>>If the cap were a billion dollars, teams would be spending a lot more than they are, and $60 million would be nothing for a QB.
Again....relevance??? There is a Cap, so not sure what you are writing this for....it is not relevant BECAUSE there IS a Cap.
>>>You budget your salary cap based on the importance of the player, which is determined by the position he plays. If you have a QB who is the guy - generally, this is a top 8-12 QB - you pay them whatever portion of the salary cap the value of a QB who is THE guy would make.
First off....you do not budget the salary cap.....it is pre-set. A budget is an estimate.....like you would budget your revenue and expenses for the upcoming period. The Cap is fixed....you don't budget it. I'm assuming what you meant was that you "manage" the Cap to ensure you don't exceed it.....and that is correct. But it is not entirely correct to allocate value just based on the position played, although that is for sure part of it. You would also allocate based on the specific individual playing that position. i.e. Mahomes should expect a higher contract that many other starting QB's if signing a deal in the same timeframe as he is more valuable.
I'm not sure what you are saying by "The guy". You originally wrote "If he's not the guy, you don't pay him at all to be the starter". Now you seem to be defining "The Guy" as the top 8 or 12 starting QB's in the league. So does that mean the remaining 20 to 24 teams who don't have "The Guy" should not get paid? Obviously they would be paid according to their value.....even if they are not "The Guy" according to you.
You then suggest paying "The Guy" whatever portion of the salary cap the value of a QB is who is one of these 8 to 12 guys. Okay, strange wording but I think you mean pay them the value of their worth? If so, then I agree.....but again the guy in the 12th spot is not necessarily having the same value as the guy in the #1 spot. But I don't agree that the other 20 to 24 starting QB's in the league should be paid almost nothing. They still have value, just not as much as the top elite QB's.
>>Carr is only worth $2 million or so to me...
I get it, you don't like Carr. That's fine.
Here's what you're not getting: This isn't the NFL of even 12 years ago. You can't "build' anything in football anymore. The non-QB players aren't nearly as impactful as people think they are, and they all get injured anyway because modern players are on PEDs that lead to constant injuries...and of particular concern is the injuries that ruin their careers (which players rarely used to get).
You can't have a QB who is worse than around the 8th-12th best in the game and contend for a SB. You're not building the 2000 Ravens' defense, nor are you going to be able to run the ball en route to a SB victory.
You can't have Derek Carr and win the SB. Hence, why bother signing him to be anything more than a backup?
I guess you could hope for some fluke the way the 2017 Eagles did it with Wentz/Foles, but that's not any kind of model you want to follow.
If your QB is in the range where he's the guy who can contend for SBs (provided the schemes are in place on both sides of the ball), you pay him whatever it takes, short of some absurd contractual demand where you can't field a full roster.
Only after your top 8-12 QB is signed do you even think about the other players. Next should be kicker. After that, you do your best to fill in the rest.
Paying Bosa is a mistake. Paying Lenoir is a mistake.
The non-QBs should not be signed to long-term contracts because injuries will screw up the cap. So can retirements. Trent Williams would count $56 million against the cap should he retire after this season.