No mystery to Cleveland Browns why Patriots assistants fail to match Belichick
Were Taylor, McCown as valuable as Brady?
Shall we talk quarterbacks? According to the average yearly salary rankings calculated by Spotrac.com, the 2018 salary rankings shows some interesting trends. Browns starter Tyrod Taylor had the 20th highest average compensation that season, with Tom Brady of the Patriots at 21st, and Josh McCown of the Jets at 22nd. McCown had been with the Browns in 2016 and had been cut, and had a good season with the Jets in 2017. Then-rookie Baker Mayfield was 23rd.
This writer is a fan of all four of those quarterbacks, but how can any sort of sane valuation process place Brady (shown above being hugged by Hue Jackson, and not much happier than Baker Mayfield about it) between Taylor and McCown?
Fortunately, the story has a happy ending. After 20 years of seasoning in New England, Brady finally got that pay raise. This year he made it to sixth highest paid NFL quarterback for Tampa Bay at age 43, and can finally buy that foreign country he and Giselle have always wanted.
Brady cannot possibly have gained value in two years at age 43. There’s no other interpretation possible but that Belichick was able to charm or bully Brady and his agent into accepting a deal far below market value, thereby freeing up millions of dollars for the organization to use to pay other players. Brady, working with Belichick, contributed to bringing dozens of players to New England over the years who otherwise would have been unaffordable.
Today, at 53rd overall, current starter and former MVP Cam Newton gets paid much less than current Cleveland Browns Baker Mayfield and Case Keenum. Newton’s compensation is also less than the salaries paid to ex-Browns Colt McCoy and Robert Griffin III. That is also crazy
What about current Patriot and 12-year veteran Brian Hoyer? As a Patriot, the journeyman has played seven seasons, averaging under $770,000 and never getting paid more than $1.5 million, which he received last year. In two years in Cleveland, he averages $2 million; $5.1 million for a year in Houston; $2 million for a year in Chicago, $7.3 million for a year in San Francisco, and $2.9 million per year for two years in Indianapolis. It couldn’t be more clear that Hoyer is willing to accept lower offers from New England than he would consider from anywhere else. Crazy, crazy, crazy.
Now, can we imagine recently departed Bill O’Brien using such lowball tactics successfully on star quarterback Deshaun Watson? “Hey Deshaun, I’m bleeping Bill O’Brien. I’m gonna give you an average quarterback contract to play for me.” The reader is left to imagine the colorful retort which may have resulted from Watson and his agent. Suffice it to say that the offer would have been turned down.
Bill O’Brien might be comparable in term of his coaching abiity to his former mentor, but no one has the ability to warp the NFL market forces like Belichick can. Belichick can appeal to the player and the players agents with the realistic expectation of winning Super Bowl hardware. It’s not guaranteed, but it is a reasonable gamble, and changes the valuation. Bill O’Brien and Matt Patricia? Not so much.
In economic terms, Belichick adds real value because players believe he will deliver a winner, year after year. The winner’s discount is real, and it is worth millions of dollars overall to the roster.