It’s OK to hope Jordan Love takes less money than he can

There’s a rumor circulating on third-rate Twitter accounts that can’t be trusted that Jordan Love is close to signing a blockbuster $56 million-a-year contract to remain the Packers’ quarterback for at least the next six seasons. Other people who likely have real sources say the parties aren’t close to a deal yet, but negotiations are going well. Either way, Jordan Love will almost certainly become the highest-paid player in the league over the next month or so. It’s OK to be a little disappointed as a fan if that happens.

It is not about labour versus capital

When I was growing up, everyone talked about how awful it was that professional athletes made so much more money than teachers and firefighters and every other honorable but underpaid profession you can imagine. In the last 10 years, the discussion has changed and is now more like, “Who really should have that money? The billionaire or the millionaire athlete you love?”

Both arguments miss the point. Of course professional athletes who entertain millions of people make more money than a public servant in a small town, it’s just a question of scale. The anti-capitalist “fuck the owners” argument gets likes on Twitter, but doesn’t really convince me.

Salary caps

If I had to choose, I would choose an NFL that has no salary cap and doesn’t hold a draft every season, allows each team to spend as much as they want/can, and allows players to negotiate where they want. In this system, I would fully support players extracting every last penny from the billionaire NFL owners (or in Green Bay’s case, I guess every penny from the budget).

Unfortunately, the collective bargaining agreement that players have repeatedly agreed to caps player salaries. This means that the owner is not able to squeeze every last penny out of salary negotiations. It only makes it more difficult to run a good team.

Almost every NFL team spends up to $10 million or more to get under the salary cap, if not more, using what are known as salary cap tricks. Forcing the team to make you the highest-paid player at your position doesn’t mean the owner can’t buy another yacht, it means the GM can’t sign another cornerback.

As we’ve heard time and time again, players like Tom Brady and Pat Mahomes (probably to a lesser extent than Brady) understood this and signed team-friendly contracts so the team could get better.

It turns out the way to the Super Bowl is to have the best QB and pay him like the 6^th best QB. Who would have thought they would make more money every year they are in the Super Bowl?

More money

Speaking of Mahomes and Brady, both quarterbacks got less than they probably could have gotten under their NFL contracts, and both, all things considered, probably made more money than anyone else.

The argument is old but good: If you give up a little money for the team, you will earn more money elsewhere once the team is successful.

At the end

No matter what Love decides, Packers fans will likely stick with him through thick and thin as long as he doesn’t threaten to leave the team. Fans have supported Aaron Rodgers through several contract negotiations that have come down to getting by down to the last penny, and there’s a very good argument to be made that the team would have won a few more Super Bowls if Rodgers had left some money on the table.

Mike Price is a lifelong Packers fan and currently lives in Utah. You can follow him on Twitter at @themikeprice.

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