Fans and media have dwelled on the wrong question about the Redskins picking up the fifth-year option on Robert Griffin III’s rookie contract. We have been asking, “Does RGIII deserve a $16 million salary?”
If you are into Griffin-bashing, your answer was clearly “no.” Even if you are still hopeful about RG like we are, your answer was probably “not yet.”
The question the Redskins asked themselves was, “What is the best way to preserve our options with RGIII without locking ourselves into a crippling deal?”
//
Should the Redskins have used the $16 Million fifth-year option on Robert Griffin III?
It turns out that exercising the option was the prudent thing to do.
National and local media warned since last week that the Redskins were likely to do this. That strategic news placement by the Redskins allowed fans to vent their shock before it was news. Smart.
ESPN’s John Keim and others explain that the Redskins faced risk either way. Teams know the terms of the players’ contracts better than fans know it. The Redskins locked in Griffin at a market price next year if he plays well this year. They have no obligation to keep him if he plays poorly, provided they release him before the start of the new league year sometime in March 2016.
Or, perhaps the Redskins have the sense that any team interested in Marcus Mariota is talking to the Titans for the No. 2 pick instead of to them. No quarterback on Washington’s roster is under contract for 2016. No other QB on the roster is a better option than Griffin.
Nothing changes with RG’s current contract. He is due about $6.7 million in salary and bonus. The ‘Skins cannot escape that. It is a bargain price when compared to Jay Cutler whose contract averages $18 million.
Or, you could be cynics like Michael Fabio and Eric Edholm at Yahoo! Sports who say that Dan Snyder made them do it because … Dan Snyder. He has done this before — to the detriment of the team.
Nothing is guaranteed to Griffin unless he suffers a “career ending” injury that keeps him out for all of the 2016 season.
The Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) does not describe the qualifying injury in that way, but if Griffin suffers another catastrophic injury, it will be career ending, I assure you.
How good must Robert Griffin III be to be worth $16 million?
Griffin is still in a “prove it” year. Sixteen million dollars is the market rate for good quarterbacks. Here’s the list of QBs paid an average of $16 million per year:
- Eli Manning
- Andy Dalton
- Philip Rivers
- Sam Bradford
- Carson Palmer
Redskins fans would love to see Griffin perform like Philip Rivers, or Carson Palmer. To do that, Griffin should pass for 4,000 yards, 30 TDs, 15 INTs, 7+ yards per pass attempt, passer rating 80+ and an ESPN QBR better than 60.
We hoped for that performance from Griffin in 2014. If Griffin does it this season, he would be a bargain at $16 million. If he does not, he could lose that income for something less in Washington or somewhere else.
[table id=9 /]
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
