6 years and $115 million appears to be the going rate for mediocrity

[v2micca]

Full, confession, I think more highly of Andy Dalton than most posters on this board. But even I only believe him to be an aggressively average quarterback that can avoid being a complete millstone around the neck of a team with Superbowl aspirations.

Under the right circumstance, I still believe he can add value. Not $115 million in value, that is just plain silly. I honestly don't get why the Bengals decided to pay him now. On the off chance that he actually had a good year and made a successful playoff run, morphing into Joe Flacco 2.0, the Bengals could have easily over-payed him next year and still wouldn't have had to increase the price tag much over the current deal.

Particularly with the draft of AJ McCarron I had thought that the Bengals were preparing themselves to potentially move on from the Andy Dalton era. Instead, they appear to be doubling down. Just absurd.

[Tombstone RJ]

yep, NFL owners and front offices are going full retard on these QB contracts... I mean, it makes sense for Manning and Brady but for a guy like Dalton it's simply unwarranted.

[Requiem]

Well, he did put together a better year last year than Cutler ever has during his career. So he has that going for him, which is nice.

[jmz313]

Full, confession, I think more highly of Andy Dalton than most posters on this board. But even I only believe him to be an aggressively average quarterback that can avoid being a complete millstone around the neck of a team with Superbowl aspirations.

Under the right circumstance, I still believe he can add value. Not $115 million in value, that is just plain silly. I honestly don't get why the Bengals decided to pay him now. On the off chance that he actually had a good year and made a successful playoff run, morphing into Joe Flacco 2.0, the Bengals could have easily over-payed him next year and still wouldn't have had to increase the price tag much over the current deal.

Particularly with the draft of AJ McCarron I had thought that the Bengals were preparing themselves to potentially move on from the Andy Dalton era. Instead, they appear to be doubling down. Just absurd.

I like Dalton and agree with your take. I'd never pay him that. Flacco either... amazing contracts for just starting caliber QBs.

[BroncoMan4ever]

I can't even fathom the deal Peyton would have gotten had his contract ended last season if Dalton is worth 115 million.

[rolandftw]

It's just supply and demand. As mediocre as Dalton is, he is still a better option then 10-15 teams have at their disposal.

Good news overall for the Broncos tho. KC will be forced to pay a similar amount to keep Alex Smith (or franchise him, opening up the possibility that they lose Justin Houston for nothing but a comp pick). Paying mediocre QB's elite money is a good way to stay mediocre.

Phillip Rivers likely due for a fairly decently sized extension as well (he deserves it tho, imo)

[HILife]

overpaid. not worth the money.

[v2micca]

It's just supply and demand. As mediocre as Dalton is, he is still a better option then 10-15 teams have at their disposal.

Actually, It feels like it could be a bubble. We all acknowledge that in a given year there is generally only around 10 to 12 Franchise level Quarterbacks to go around the entire league. Everyone else has to find a way to make do with an Average to Awful Quarterback situation.

I think that both the Flacco and Dalton contracts are going to backfire so spectacularly, that very soon teams will be very gun shy about giving big money to a QB unless that player has achieved a consensus top 5 in the league ranking. Particularly when it appears that more and more you can get replacement level or better performance from developing a mid round prospect and surrounding them with a good line and solid skill position players.

Even with the expanding salary cap, front offices are going to very quickly realize that teams like Seattle, who pay practically nothing for their QB, have a distinct advantage over teams like Baltimore who spend a significant percentage of their salary cap on one position. Unless he is an elite signal caller, it just isn't a efficient distribution of your limited resources.

[Bigdawg26]

Wow and I thought Joe Flacco's deal was bad. Another average QB getting paid over 100 mil. crazy!

[BroncoBeavis]

I keep wondering when the QB market will break loose and behave more like the rest of the free agent market.

Teams generally don't want to change QB's and QB's generally don't want to change teams. Makes for some weird economics.

[Kaylore]

[TonyR]

Will be interesting to see what happens with Nick Foles in Philadelphia, particularly if he plays as well as he did last year. Chip Kelly might make him very rich. He's only making a little over $600K this year and next.

[rolandftw]

Actually, It feels like it could be a bubble. We all acknowledge that in a given year there is generally only around 10 to 12 Franchise level Quarterbacks to go around the entire league. Everyone else has to find a way to make do with an Average to Awful Quarterback situation.

I think that both the Flacco and Dalton contracts are going to backfire so spectacularly, that very soon teams will be very gun shy about giving big money to a QB unless that player has achieved a consensus top 5 in the league ranking.

Think it depends what kind of success most teams are planning/hoping for. Team like Cincy is probably fine with a roster that regularly competes for division titles.

Similar situation in KC imo. They're fine with a team that makes the playoffs. Not paying up for Smith puts them in a situation where they very well might be a 5-11 type of team. Oakland would kill for a playoff caliber team right now.

The goal of every team should be to win championships, but a front office buys for themselves a lot more time to do that before getting axed if they regularly are in the postseason.

[BroncoMan4ever]

Will be interesting to see what happens with Nick Foles in Philadelphia, particularly if he plays as well as he did last year. Chip Kelly might make him very rich. He's only making a little over $600K this year and next.

If Foles continues to produce how he did last season(which I believe he will as he is my pick for who will be known as the best QB in his draft class) his new deal would be worth the money Dalton and Flacco lucked their way into.

If he continues to produce that way he would easily be a top 5 QB in the league.

[ATL-Eric]

This deal is actually about 13Million annually over 7 years. With 17M upfront...

Makes you wonder why he didnt just force the Bengals to franchise him next season.

But I guess the 17 Million signing bonus is too good to pass up considering he was only scheduled to make 1M this year. I think the deal is about what you would expect and like someone else mentioned probably close to what Alex Smith could command right now.

Something else to consider is maybe Dalton thinks the offense may take a step back with Gruden gone.


Rotoworld....
Updating a previous item, the actual value of Andy Dalton's six-year extension is $96 million with a $12 million signing bonus.
He also gets a $5 million roster bonus in three days. The guaranteed money is just $17 million -- the roster bonus and Dalton's signing bonus. Dalton was already under contract for a little over $1 million this year, so across seven seasons the base value of his new contract is essentially $97.09 million -- $13.87 million annually. Dalton can earn another $19 million through escalators, per PFT. People, on Twitter, at least, freaked out about the initially-reported worth, but this is going to end up being a front-loaded, team-friendly deal.