Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year, is set to make a record-breaking contract. And if your primary reason to hold off on that is that “it makes it harder to sign other guys,” well, congratulations, water is wet.
Seahawks continue to chase edges in difference-making area
If, however, the idea leaves you unsteady because you’re not sure about overall positional value (how many top-paid receivers are on Super Bowl teams?) or you question return on investment with record-setting contracts (are you still getting the best version of this player?) then, well, fair take.
But one NFL analyst has a response for you, and it’s the rubric he uses to grade massive deals across the league: Are you paying an elite player elite money, or paying a very good player elite money?
“It’s the difference between elite and very good,” ESPN’s Benjamin Solak said plainly during an appearance Thursday on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy. “And it’s very hard to talk about this difference. It’s why we struggle to talk about quarterbacks like Justin Herbert and Joe Burrow. We say, ‘Oh, they’re unbelievable, they’re so good!’ Yeah, but there’s Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson.
“There’s a slightly separate tier, and it’s called the elite tier. And we throw the word ‘elite’ around too often. Elite means best of the best. It means the top 5% or the top 10% of guys. So when we talk about market-setting contracts, you need to need to make sure you’re resetting the market for an elite player – the best of the best.”
Is that JSN? Seattle’s star receiver racked up an astonishing 1,793 yards last season, setting not just a new franchise record but cracking the top 10 all-time in single-season yardage by any receiver in NFL history. And that wasn’t yardage added on late; it was apparent early in the season that he was the best receiver in football last year, and still, defenses couldn’t stop him.
“The great news is Seattle’s got two of (those elite players),” Solak said, mentioning his strong belief in cornerback Devon Witherspoon, who’s also on track for a massive contract extension. “Spoon is an elite player, there’s no question about that. JSN is the one who kind of broke out late and kind of changes your plan.
“But whenever I see teams sign these market-setting deals and it’s a mistake, it’s because they’re paying elite prices for very good players,” he added. “Like, when the Steelers made DK Metcalf the top-four-or-five-paid receiver in football, I was like, OK, well, Metcalf isn’t an elite receiver, he’s a very good receiver. So that’s kind of where the hair gets split.”
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