Do you want your 'quarter back'? By Jason Fox  Thursday, October 5, 2006

(Editor’s Note: In this new column, Jason Fox looks at player salaries in various sports to determine if the athletes are worth the money. If you don’t agree with Jay (you wouldn’t be the first) or want to add your two cents, go to the Were They Worth It? discussion forum.)

"You’re only as good as your last game." A simple quote that my dad always told me growing up, but the more I play and watch sports, the more it rings true. With the pigskin being kicked off yet again for another season which is sure to be full of jukes and spins, stumbles and fumbles, and first downs and touchdowns, I thought I’d take a peak into something that most sports fans leave on the back burner for the management to figure out: the personal salaries for the quarterback of each team. Only one team can end the postseason with a win this year, so who's QB is going to play the best in their last game and earn all of the quarters they have coming to them this year?

Unlike all other sports, the quarterback is the one player who truly dominates the tempo of this team game. One could make an argument that the pitcher does just as much in baseball, if not more than the quarterback in terms of controlling play, but the pitcher is primarily in charge of the defensive side of the ball and is not expected to help his offense at all (unless you are Dontrelle Willis or Mike Hampton, but this is very rare and only applies to the NL). A starting quarterback in the NFL on the other hand, controls each and every snap, is responsible for directing the offense, and the whole morale of the team. Used religiously in many different real life metaphors, the quarterback is the face of the team, and more importantly, the leader.

So it is no surprise that the seemingly unanswerable question of ‘why some quarterbacks are given higher salaries than others’ still raises eyebrows today. Let’s examine a few cases on both ends of the spectrum as we gear up for the 2006 season, starting with a seasoned veteran who has already proved himself on numerous levels: Tom Brady. Entering the league in 2000, Brady was not expected to carry any weight at all for the New England Patriots. Drafted 199th overall in the 2000 draft, Brady’s role was to back up then-starter Drew Bledsoe, learn the offense and become acquainted with the new level of play. His salary as a rookie was a mere $205,800 (signing bonus included…this was significantly less than the Patriot’s median salary-per-player that year, which was $476,800).

Drew Bledsoe had the highest total contract of any NFL quarterback that year, valued at $8,542,700. However, after Bledsoe fell to injury in 2001, Brady quickly stepped in as the role of starting QB, leading the Patriots to their first of three Super Bowls. After his first Super Bowl victory, Brady’s contract was restructured as he was named permanent starter, earning a $3,500,000 signing bonus in 2002. Despite the signing bonus, the Super Bowl champion QB was still only ranked only 22nd in the NFL in terms of total contract earnings for QB’s, trailing such Prima-Donna rookies as David Carr and Joey Harrington ($11,960,000 and $7,300,000 respectively in 2002). Oh, and did I mention that in May of 2003, after being named MVP of Super Bowl XXXVI, Brady took a massive pay cut ($3,000,000 to $450,000 to be exact) to make room for running back Corey Dillon? Sure he received most of those quarters back in a signing bonus in the future, but that’s sacrificing some serious money for the better of the team: something that most of today’s hot shot quarterbacks wouldn’t even think of doing, even if it was in the form of Albert Haynesworth kicking them in the head.

Today, Brady’s contract reaches upwards to $19 million. While some argue that he is now being overpaid with the lack of talent around him, real football fans are aware that you can’t put a price on a championship (just ask any Eagles fan). Bringing 3 Super Bowl rings to a franchise in only 4 seasons (10-0 during that stretch in the playoffs) is something that legends are made of. Brady can have all the quarters he wants back now, as far as I’m concerned.

It’s obvious that most of today’s professional athletes are overpaid, but there are two things that you can’t put a price on in today’s world of professional quarterbacking. One has already been mentioned in the league’s best quarterback, Tom Brady, in terms of just plain winning games. The other factor is being a gamer. According to UrbanDictinary.com, a gamer is “Someone who plays hard every time, playing through injuries or great mental anguish.” The example sentence is, “Steve McNair plays through injuries all the time; he's a gamer.” Coincidence? I think not. The $1 million dollar salary that the Ravens will pay McNair this year, on top of the $11 million dollar signing bonus that he will receive makes him a steal for one of the league’s biggest pre-season contenders for Super Bowl champ. We are all very familiar with the old adage that defense wins championships, but McNair is out to prove this year that along with the league’s best defense, gamers at quarterback can win championships too. In 2003, he led his surprising Titans to the Super Bowl, falling only 3 yards short of a ring. Posting an impressive resume which consists of sharing an MVP award in 2003 with Peyton Manning, an 84-59 career record as starter, and being listed as Questionable 65 times before game-time but still playing in (and performing) in almost every one of those games, Steve McNair has proved he is the deserving recipient of any amount of quarters that a team is willing to pay him, and the Ravens are not asking for any quarters back right now after this solid pre-season transaction and 4-0 start.

Now what about the man that is coming off the biggest pay day in 2005 (over $23 million) and is arguably the most exciting player in the NFL: Michael Vick. The man who is the new face of the NFL makes the pocket seem like an endless ocean of options for which he can either run, or catapult the ball 100 yards downfield with a simple flick of his wrist (which makes us all second guess our original thought that the Powerade commercial where Vick throws the ball out of the stadium isn’t true). Although he hasn’t gotten to the Super Bowl yet, his resume proves that he can get to the playoffs, and after some fine tuning of that cannon arm of his, it seems that it’s only a matter of time before this new kind of modern day quarterback shows the world that a running, explosive QB can indeed earn a championship. With a 2-2 record in the playoffs in his young career (including a blowout win at Lambeau Field, where the Packers had previously lost only 1 postseason game), Vick has proven that he can win anywhere. Now it’s only a matter of showing some consistency. Being as marketable off the field as he is on the field, Vick definitely deserves the money he has been collecting. (*$$$ rating)

Now let’s take a look at rookie “sensation” Matt Leinart. Hailing from the highly respected University of Southern California, Leinart has entered the NFL with a lot of hype filling his baggage. As we good football fans are well aware, the transformation from college football to the NFL is even greater than it looks as two simple words juxtaposed on paper (Just ask Ryan Leaf, David Carr or Joey Harrington).

To hold out from training camp for the first two weeks, miss the first pre-season game and then ask for and receive a six-year contract, maximum of $51 million, $14 million in guaranteed money, doesn’t just seem ridiculous: it’s outrageous. For a consistently dead-end franchise (at least in past years) to dish out this much money to a rookie, back-up quarterback seems unreasonable. The starter for Arizona, Kurt Warner, is looking to bank $4,000,000 dollars, which folds in comparison to his hot-shot rookie backup. I’d say the Cardinals are going to be asking for their quarters back by the end of this year. Then again, who knows what might happen? Until Leinart gets a win, I’ll be waiting for him to put his money where his arm…or should I say headset…is. He’ll get his chance this week at home against the Chiefs, but after going 5-8 with 49 yards and an interception and a fumble last week in the 4th quarter against the Falcons in a blow out loss, there doesn’t seem to be much hope for this USC rook. Well, there’s always next year, and the year after that, and the year after that… (*$$ rating)

Earning at least double what Warner will be making this year (over 8 million including signing 2006 signing bonus), will be Dolphins QB Daunte Culpepper. Now, I’m not a doctor yet, but tearing your anterior cruciate, medial collateral and posterior cruciate ligaments last season doesn’t exactly sound like you’ll be ready to play next season. Apparently, this is a risk that the Dolphins organization is willing to take. Starting the season with a surprisingly terrible 1-3 record, including a loss to the Texans (their only win coming off of a 2 point victory at home over the lowly Titans), it looks like Miami may be wanting a refund once this season is done. Of course you can’t always blame the quarterback, but if you start the season in 4 games with 2 TD’s, 3 INT’s and a 77 passer rating, this doesn’t exactly help to sway the finger pointing. ($ rating)

Finally, I’ll take a look at two NFC East quarterbacks that have butted heads the past few years, and will surely continue to in the future, Donovan McNabb and Eli Manning. Leading his Eagles to the NFC championship game in 2001, 2002, 2003 (all losses), and then to Super Bowl in 2004 where they endured a heart breaking loss to the Patriots, Donavon proved he not only could lead a team, but also showed the world that he is for real. Playing through a partially broken ankle in 2002 and 2003, McNabb continued to do what he does best: play and win. Though he hasn’t won the big one yet, he’s given the unlucky city of Philadelphia some hope that they might be able to bring home their first Super Bowl ring in the near future. In 2002, McNabb signed the richest contract in NFL history, $115 million over 12 years with $20.5 million in bonus money. Like Vick, McNabb has taken the opportunity to market his positive playing image off the field, and has proved that he is a gamer. Given some offensive weapons at receiver, there’s little doubt that McNabb will get his team back into the playoffs for another shot at his first ring this year.

It’s hard to say that Peyton and Eli have anything in common besides these facts: they both buckle under the pressure that is the NFL Playoffs, they play exceptionally well with the no-huddle, and they both have that Manning nose. While Peyton’s passes are crisp and usually on the money, Eli’s passes tend to be ducks and are inaccurate. Though Eli’s numbers seem to be improving with experience, inconsistency has plagued his early career. Leading the Giants to a division title in 2005 and throwing for 3,762 yards, good for 5th in the NFL (2nd in the NFC), his abysmal play in the first round of the playoffs at home against the Panthers left something to be desired. You’d think that a player who made such a fuss on his draft day (refusing to play for the Chargers, forcing a trade to be made up in which he was given a big contract and sent to New York) would show up for the playoffs. Maybe it’s just not in the Manning blood to do so. Until he plays every quarter like it’s the fourth quarter, and starts playing with some emotion, I don’t think I’m alone when I say that he’s not worth all of the money that the Giants will be shelling out to him over the next 3 or 4 years of his record setting rookie contract ($54 million over 6 years with a $20 million signing bonus). (*$$ rating)

It’s easy to see that there are a lot of question marks this year that come in the form of the captains of each team that stand tall behind the center, barking out play calls and audibles. These question marks will become clearer when these so called team leaders are thrust into the spot light as the season goes on. Can they put their money when the pigskin is? That’s the million dollar question.

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