How to Over Evaluate the Position

We as fans are often left to ask ourselves, “How the hell did (insert player) earn THAT much money?”

Contracts can be a doozy to go through, because very rarely are athletes ever paid for their worth. General Managers and owners compare their player to another player to find what they should really be paid. In the NBA and MLB, players are given whopping contracts and they don’t always live up to those contracts. However, get your money any way you can. It’s Capitalism, baby!

In sports, there is no position more important to the success of a team than a quarterback in football. Usually, most teams get it right. It’s very rare these days for a team to totally over value the player at the position like the Vikings have with Kirk Cousins.

One thing that surprised me recently is that the Philadelphia Eagles, who’ve finally gone all in on Carson Wentz, are totally overpaying for him.

Over the offseason, they let go of Nick Foles, who lead them to a Super Bowl and won himself an MVP. Foles will now helm the Jacksonville Jaguars offense, where Blake Bortles failed. The Jags will be paying $88 million to the Super Bowl LII MVP over the next four years. In comparison, the Vikes signed Kirk Cousins last winter and agreed to pay him $84 million over three years, with $57 million to be paid this season and the following.

If you’re asking, “Well, jeez. He must be an excellent player!”

You’d be sadly mistaken, because Kirk Cousins has never won a playoff game.

Back to the Eagles.

Carson Wentz is a fine QB and when he’s healthy, he can ball out. The key phrase is when he’s healthy.

Because, as we all know, he hasn’t been. In fact, Wentz has been out a lot the last two years after suffering an ACL injury against the L.A. Rams late in the 2017 season. The same season Nick Foles took over and lead the franchise to their first Super Bowl Championship.

Last year, Wentz’s season was hampered by poor play and a back injury rendering him unable to compete late in the season. The Eagles were going to miss the playoffs until once again, Nick Foles stepped in.

So, as they cut ties with Foles, they also handsomely paid their franchise QB, giving him $107 million in guaranteed money. You read that right. One Hundred and Seven Million Dollars.

Do you know how many playoff wins Carson Wentz has? 0! The same amount as Kirk Cousins. Ain’t that interesting?

There’s another quarterback within the division who is looking to be resigned this summer: Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys.

Now, you could make an argument saying a third round pick of a QB should not be paid the same as the QB who was the second pick of a draft (they were in the same draft class). However, there’s Russell Wilson.

This offseason, Russ became the highest paid player in the NFL and will be guaranteed $107 million. It’s the same amount that Carson Wentz will be paid. I can’t help but think the Eagles totally got it wrong.

(To be fully transparent with you, I’m a fan of the New York Giants. I understand that comes with hating everything Philly and Dallas related, but I can put my biases aside.)

You see, Russ has won a Super Bowl. He was one Marshawn Lynch up-the-gut run from winning not only a second Super Bowl, but back to back ones. Last year, he did what seemed to be the improbable and lead the Seattle Seahawks to the playoffs in what was meant to be a rebuilding year.

If anyone has earned his money, it’s Russell Wilson. He went from a no name third round pick to starting for the Seahawks his rookie year and leading them to the playoffs. He’s only missed the playoffs once in his entire career in 2017. He is the cornerstone of their franchise. He’s also done another thing that Carson Wentz hasn’t been able to do and that’s stay healthy.

I know it seems like I’m killing Wentz for injuries. However, I’m not killing him about the injuries. It’s the Eagles who deserved to be questioned.

I don’t care who you are, you can’t overpay for a player, no matter the position or sport, who has a history of debilitating injuries. It’s not fair to players who go out their every single game and are not only healthy, but consistently play well.

Not only this, but Wentz doesn’t have the success yet. Of course, the Eagles were bound to make the playoffs before he was injured in 2017. We don’t know if that success would have continued if he was healthy. Would he have won the Super Bowl if he was healthy? Maybe, but we know that Nick Foles won in his place.

Dak Prescott, The Cowboys QB, has earned his pay day. He’s been healthy and he’s lead the Boys to two division titles in the last three years. A lot of people act like he doesn’t deserve any credit to their success and that’s an absolute joke.

Sure, Ezekiel Elliott is one of the three best running backs in the league and he plays behind an iron wall for an offensive line that many consider to be among the best or if not the best in the NFL today. But people, we’re undervaluing him. From Week 10 through their elimination in the playoffs at the hands of the Rams, Prescott threw 14 touchdowns to 5 interceptions. Those aren’t necessarily wow factor numbers and I get that.

Let’s take into account that prior to Week 10, where they’d win seven out of their last eight games, the Cowboys were on the ropes and assumed to be toast in a weak NFC East.

The Amari Cooper trade saved the Cowboys season and probably Prescott’s job. It’s easy to point their success at the trade and not Prescott but it’s hard to produce when you don’t have weapons outside of your running back.

When Dak Precott has weapons, like every other QB, he’s able to produce and win. He’s shown that he can succeed in the role of starter. Most QB’s don’t win their division two out of three years as a starter. Tom Brady did it. Russell Wilson did it. Carson Wentz didn’t. Prescott did. At the end of the day, the results are black and white.

So how much will Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones pay Dak Prescott? It’s the looming question this season in Big D. He’s not fun to watch like Tony Romo was in the same vein as Brett Favre was in Green Bay. Dak is definitely a check down QB. He can’t throw a deep ball like Romo could. What Prescott does do, is give you consistency.

But he also doesn’t deserve over $100 million.

That has yet to be seen with Wentz. In his Rookie season, he and his team faded away by the midway point, becoming an afterthought to the Cowboys and the *checks notes* oh yeah, the Giants.

Wentz is supremely over paid. Plus, I think the Eagles, who could’ve waited another year to pay him, paid him too early. They should’ve waited after this season. They should have seen if he could go out there and produce. They should have seen if he could go out there and play a full season healthy.

I think Kirk Cousins is over paid and not just because he’s never won a playoff game, but because he’s been mediocre. He’s also in his thirties and if you’re paying a guy $57 million in his thirties to go out there and win you football games, you’ve lost your mind as an organization.

But I think Wentz is worthy of being paid that Kirk Cousins money. Why? Not only because he did help lead the Eagles to a Super Bowl as their starter for the majority of that season, but there’s true potential there. His upside and his youth makes you want to take that risk at $88 million guaranteed.

I think Prescott is worth somewhere between $90–93.5 million. As I said, he’s consistent and I think the Cowboys will win the division again. Whether they make it far in the playoffs is a different story. It’s not his fault the Cowboys offense has had their short comings when Jason Garrett is the head coach.

As a Giants fan, it’s going to kill me watching the Eagles and Cowboys compete for the division the next few years. The Giants are now in total rebuild mode and the Washington Redskins will be the Redskins for as long as they are to be owned by Dan Snyder. All biases aside, it’s rare when a division has two great young QB’s competing every year. I know Eagle and Cowboy fans will truly enjoy it.