John Golden Richards was an American football player who played wide receiver for the Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys in the National Football League. He was a collegiate football player for the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors and BYU Cougars.
In the NFL, big-money contracts are mostly based on domino effects. Typically, top players at each position (as well as their agents) wait to see what other top players receive before launching an aggressive bid for what they believe to be an even higher salary. This scenario is currently unfolding as the Minnesota Vikings try to determine what to do with star wide out Justin Jefferson. As a result, Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, another great receiver, has his eyes and wallet wide open.
There is a new wrinkle now, though, with rumors that Minnesota is considering a blockbuster trade offer for Jefferson to avoid paying him what might be a historic receiver contract extension. The phrase being used in Minny is apparently “growing steam.” The number has long been discussed to be in the ballpark of $30 million APY – which is Tyreek Hill’s APY in Miami, making him the NFL’s best-paid wideout ever. And of course now the NFL cap has jumped up, to $255.4 million. And as we’ve pointed out, folks who think that the jump means teams can more easily pay their guys are missing the boat … Because the increase also means the players are going to ask for larger pieces of the pie.
Should the Vikings have been proactive on Jefferson, thus beating the cap news? That’s a criticism being issued by PFT and others … and the Cowboys have heard the same criticism when it comes to contracts for Dak Prescott and others. But that criticism misses another boat: The agents knew the cap announcement was coming. Why would the agent sign a deal on Friday morning? Why not wait until the cap number is released on Friday afternoon? Specifically to Lamb: He has stated, good-naturedly, that “the goal is always” to be the highest-paid. To accomplish that? To “re-set the market,” to use another popular catchphrase? Patience is sometimes required.
In other words, bringing back to Dallas: The Cowboys would’ve loved to save money and “be proactive” on Dak’s series of deals. One problem: He never said “yes” to any of their “proactive” offers.
