Analyzing the Jimmy Garoppolo Trade

Writer: Caleb Akpan

The NBA trade deadline took over sports news on Thursday, but the NFL just couldn’t let the day pass without getting in a big headline of their own. As major deals broke in basketball, the San Francisco 49ers secured their franchise player at a historical price tag, as they signed QB Jimmy Garoppolo to a five-year, $137.5 million dollar contract.

Garoppolo’s new deal will give him $27.5 million annually and a guaranteed $74 million no matter what happens. Jimmy G has come a long way from backing up Tom Brady (who he now makes $7 million more than), and getting two Super Bowl rings essentially for sitting on the bench, or at least you would think with a deal like this on the table.

In reality, Garoppolo started just five games for the Niners after he was traded, adding on to a whopping two starts in New England. That’s right, after starting just seven games in his career, the Eastern Illinois graduate has more money in his contract than future hall of famers, and will make in five years about what Brett Favre made in his entire career. A very confusing situation for most fans no doubt, but, if players are paid based off numbers and potential, the 26-year old may have gotten the deal he deserved.

First and foremost, Garoppolo’s career record when starting is 7-0. A small sample size without a doubt, but one that brought San Francisco out of the gutter last season and one that created hope for their loyal fans that another championship could be one the way sooner than later. GM John Lynch had to try his best to lock up those kinds of results, even if it’s unrealistic to think Jimmy will never lose a game.

In addition to his perfect record, the young QB posted a passer rating of 96.2 in his games with the 49ers, good for 11th amongst qualified passers. The young gun threw for seven touchdowns with his new team, while also turning the ball over five times. That doesn’t necessarily sound like highest salary ever production, but context is always important in a situation like this.

As noted, the wins have come in bunches for San Fran so far, Garoppolo is 26, and the 49ers didn’t trade for him to not try and secure a long-term deal. The 1,250 passing yards he put up in his first four starts are the most for a player in NFL history, and it should only be up from there as the quarterback continues to develop a good chemistry with is teammates. No one can deny top ten quarterbacks deserve top dollar, especially when they’re young and oozing with potential.

Of course, there’s always the chance that Garoppolo gets exposed as fool’s good next season and the Niners end up back at the top of the draft, not knowing what happened. But, those chances seem too small right now for them to care. With the numbers available, the only thing San Francisco really could’ve done was pay up, and they did that and more.

Garoppolo’s massive contract now sets the stage for quarterbacks with more experience to possibly receive even bigger paydays, namely Kirk Cousins. Just three years older than his San Francisco counterpart and with even more production, Cousins could be asking for an annual salary of $30 million…..as a starting point. Older quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan, and Drew Brees are in line for new deals as well, and while they’re older, their numbers suggest they’re just as deserving of giant deals.

If any part of the Garoppolo situation can be considered certain, it’s that the NFL’s contract negotiation process is changing. Players have more power than ever to demand big money, especially those at the helm of an offense. Don’t let deals like the one made on Thursday surprise you, things should only be getting crazier from here.

Five NFL MVP Candidates

Writer: Caleb Akpan

NFL football will be back on our TV screens very soon. Come Thursday, the best of best will take the field to try and eventually play on the biggest Sunday of the year. The night prior to Super Bowl 52, the 2018 NFL Honors will take place, recognizing the greatest performers of the season, including the Rookie of The Year, Defensive Player Of The Year, and of course, the MVP. Today we’ll look at five candidates for the most coveted award of the season, five players who have a chance to lead their teams to Super Bowl victory:

Sports Illustrated

. Le’Veon Bell, Running Back, Pittsburgh Steelers

If Bell didn’t sit out of training camp, he’d probably be higher on this list, but even though the star back just signed his franchise tender to officially join the team for 2017, he still has an opportunity to do great things. There’s almost no chance coach Mike Tomlin doesn’t immediately plug Bell back into the gameplan, seeing that he can do so much on the field. The Steelers will need Bell to once again contend for a championship, and with the perfect pieces around him, all Bell really has to do is keep on pace with his 2016 season (1884 yards from scrimmage, 9 touchdowns) and play a few more games (he only played 12 in 2016) to deserve MVP consideration.

4. Matt Ryan, Quarterback, Atlanta Falcons

Back-to-back MVPs aren’t completely out of the ordinary. Legend Joe Montana won back-to-back in the 80s. Peyton Manning did it twice for four of his five. Brett Favre three-peated from 1995 to 1997. Matt Ryan isn’t on the same level as those three Hall Of Famers, but he probably has more to prove than any of them did in their MVP winning seasons. The sting of Super Bowl 51 will probably never go away, but 2017 offers a chance for redemption and Ryan seems unlikely to regress with a great team still around him, even with offensive coordinator, Kyle Shanahan, gone to the 49ers. If Ryan decides to take his frustration for the historic loss out on the league, watch out for a quarterback who can do major damage.

3. Dak Prescott, Quarterback, Dallas Cowboys

Dak Prescott has done a lot of good things to start his NFL career. He successfully filled in and then fully replaced a Pro Bowl Quarterback in Tony Romo, essentially sending him into retirement. He brought the Dallas Cowboys back to (actual) relevancy, and relevancy that seems like it will stay for years to come. Prescott has his doubters heading into year number two, but he also has a great opportunity. There’s still a decent chance that his partner-in-crime (no pun intended) Ezekiel Elliott will be suspended to start the year, and that happening could shoulder a large amount of the Cowboys offensive load onto Prescott’s shoulders. If he handles that anything like the pressure he faced in 2016, Prescott will be more than just a great young prospect this year.

2. Aaron Rodgers, Quarterback, Green Bay Packers

After an already insane 2016 campaign, the sky’s the limit for Aaron Rodgers in 2017. Bad taste left in his mouth after the NFC championship game? Check. Coming off a career year in pass completions? Check. A healthier and likely better team around him? Check. Everything looks right on paper for Rodgers, he just has to execute, and if he’s shown the NFL’s viewing audience anything since he took the reigns on Green Bay in 2008, it’s that more often than not, he can get the job done.

1. Tom Brady, Quarterback, New England Patriots

The Patriots are going to run the table, be the greatest team ever, destroy everybody, blah blah blah. That’s an uncertainty at this point, if anybody knows how hard that is, it’s New England, and they already have a major setback with the injury to Julian Edelman. What can almost be called a guarantee is Tom Brady being really good at football. It rarely matters who lines up with Brady, but even with Edelman gone, Brady still has Rob Gronkowski (for now) and Brandin Cooks, whose already drawing comparisons to Randy Moss, who Brady threw 23 touchdowns to in the almost perfect season. If Brady can create a connection like that with Cooks and do what he always does with Gronkowski, few will be able to compete with him for the title of the NFL’s best player.