I'm guessing the 49ers draft another mid-rounds QB this year in case Kaepernick actually won't sign for a reasonable deal next year. QB's are overpaid in the NFL right now. They're not a little bit overpaid, they're a lot overpaid.
I came in here to post this same exact topic. If the 49ers pay him, this will be where they begin to crack. They will not be able to field a team as good as they have been if they have to pay him that much.
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/03/03/report-kaepernick-looking-for-18-million-per-year/ Link to article... This guy is nuts.
I'd wait if I was S.F. to pay him. Less than two years of starts and the surrounding team is very strong. 18 million is a lot of cap space really soon.
Kaepernick has leverage though, if he hits the open market he will make that much because some team would pay him.
Leverage doesn't matter though. Talent is what matters. Kaepernick is a solid QB but he's not currently a top 5 QB or a top 10 QB or even a top 15 QB. QB is the position where the NFL's star system is breaking down. Solid mid-tier QB's are getting paid as if they were superstars. Fear is driving that phenomenon. Teams are afraid to go looking for another QB when their mid-career solid but nothing special QB comes due. Every other position causes good teams to make a hard choice on the 2nd contract, often letting the guy go, but the prospect of finding a new QB terrifies teams even if the guy they have is not all that good.
As of right now, there will always be a team ready to pay this type of QB the big money, forcing the team into basically keeping him. you can't be the team to let a franchise QB walk even though he isn't worth that huge contract. I think eventually we will see things level out and come back to normal, but it hasn't happened yet. Maybe it never does though because if you win a SB with a QB on their original or not a huge contract, you have to pay them. But if you pay them that much, you lessen the talent elsewhere. You lessen the talent elsewhere, you might not win another a SB with them. Self created problem of winning.
Yep. The answer probably is to evaluate whether you have a star QB or just a QB you are comfortable with. If the guy is not a star you can't pay him like one. That's the only way to manage the cap insanity that paying somebody a seventh of your cap creates. We'll all watch the Ravens on this one. If they stay highly competitive with Flacco playing under that silly contract then maybe there's an argument for staying the course with your QB no matter the cost. If on the other hand they become a mid-tier team and fail to compete at the highest levels, well then Flacco was the canary in the coal mine that we needed to sort this out.
You guys are dead wrong on this one. Kaepernick is worth whatever it takes to keep him in San Fran. 18 million a year is fair when you see the contracts of a Cutler, Ryan, Flacco, etc. Besides Andrew Luck there's not another QB I'd rather start a team with moving forward. He's 26 with 2 nfc title games and a Super Bowl experience under his belt. He still hasn't mastered the pocket but the arm strength is there and throws a great ball. He's probably the best scrambler and knows how to avoid punishment unlike other scramblers such as RG3 and Mike Vick. The 49ers can't be cheap with their franchise QB they'll get him locked up long term and never look back.
Im not a big believer in this myth that you need an "elite" qb to win. I think there are a good 16-20 QBs in this league that are capable of winning the Super Bowl. Unfortunately only 1 will win each season, yet even the winner will need a combination of good play and luck to win it. Perfect example: Russell Wilson. If Crabtree catches that ball, Wilson isnt a Super Bowl winning QB, so something completely out of his control is the difference of him being validated forever and not being validated. Thats why I laugh when people say Alex Smith cant win a Super Bowl, or Sanchez cant, the guys were right there. Was it Sanchez's fault Feely missed the 2 FGs ? No. Brees beat the Colts 2 weeks later, how many points did Brees put up? 24. Well Sanchez put up 17 (+2 missed FGs), its not Sanchez fault the Jets secondary didnt take one to the house like the Saints secondary did. Bottomline, i'm not paying Kaepernick, he doesnt do enough to elevate the team to the point where I have to pay him 18 million. Lets not forget either, he is working with a ton of guys, Gore, Davis, Crabtree.....start taking those guys away and then we find out what he is made of.
Did Sanchez have to mentioned in this thread now? I dont think there is one single thread on this forum that doesn't have the name Sanchez in it.
The thing is, even if you comfortable with a QB, on the market they will be paid like a star. Finding a QB you are comfortable in is even a difficult task in the NFL so the extra money you spend to keep a comfortable QB paid like a star is really extra money so you don't have to go through the search for a comfortable QB. A team can make the smart decision and let a QB they are comfortable in walk, but if they then don't have a viable option to fill in for the QB, it will look like a critical miss for the GM/HC in their decision. Like I mentioned a couple sentences ago, the extra money you pay to keep a not a star QB is really to avoid searching for another QB and the problems that come with that Yeah the Ravens took a dip this year, but I don't think they were a top tier team when they won a SB. They went from good to great to average to good from last year to this year. The Ravens really ended up in the worst possible contract situation with Flacco, but who can blame them. If the Ravens don't win the SB, Flacco is probably had at a reasonable price as nobody would have paid him a top tier contract in my opinion and the Ravens probably make the playoffs again this year.
Running qbs get hit more. All these running qbs will have shorter careers. 5-6 years to lift one and the production falls off fast from there... on to the next gunslinging speed demon.
Hes going to get it, the contract negotiations are apparently going good. If not he will hold out anyway.
