Arizona Cardinals will show players the money
By Scott Allen
The Arizona Cardinals will need to pay in order to play for a possible championship in 2018
They say you don’t need to break the bank in order to win. For the Arizona Cardinals, in order to win they may just have to do that in free agency this year.
While you hate to see teams overpay players, in this day and age in order to beat out the competition it is what must happen. Take quarterback Kirk Cousins for example.
His list of 2018 teams has reportedly dwindled to just four teams, including the Cardinals. What will it take to get him? Likely $90 million over three years.
We don’t like doing math often, but that comes out to a cool $30 million per season. That’s not pocket change my friends.
Is Cousins worth $30 million per year? Probably not but someone will pay it. If not the Cardinals, then the New York Jets, Denver Broncos, or Minnesota Vikings.
Here’s the thing I don’t understand however. Why do we care how much a player is going to cost a team? It’s their money, not ours.
Ok, ok, I get it ticket prices and concessions. That’s a weak argument. Those are going to remain pricey whether they are paying their quarterback $30 million or $3 million.
It is also the cost of doing business. Unfortunately teams have to spend money in order to win. Not always, but it certainly helps. Money won’t always win championships though. Ask the New York Yankees about that.
The one good thing in football is that there is a salary cap. Baseball doesn’t but does have a luxury tax by going over a certain limit. Some teams are willing to pay that.
You worry that overspending on a quarterback takes away from another position the team could be spending their money on? Understandable, but keep in mind every team is set to the same cap.
You aren’t going to be able to get the best quarterback and the best offensive lineman and the best receiver on the market. For the Cardinals, their greatest need is a quarterback.
This is a quarterback-driven league. That is where you spend (or overspend depending on your point of view).
There are only certain players the Cardinals should overspend on though. Cousins is one of them. He might be the only one at quarterback. If they don’t get a high priced quarterback, they will still spend money.
And if they can’t draw Cousins, then they still need a free agent veteran quarterback along with a draft pick. Whatever quarterback they get though, they’ll likely pay more than you and I believe their worth to be.
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We may not have given that said quarterback the money they were handed by the team but what can we do about it? Nothing. So it will be pointless to worry about it. We move on and continue to look forward to the 2018 season.