Free Agency is a time of overspending. There are only a handful of highly talented players who hit the market each year, and when they do, the expectation is that their contract with their new team will make them the highest-paid at their position… even if their talent may not suggest that.
Soon-to-be former Cowboys cornerback Byron Jones is widely considered the top corner to hit the market this offseason. Currently, the highest paid at the position in terms of per season value is Xavien Howard at $15.05 million. So, all Jones would need to become the NFL’s highest-paid cornerback would be to land a contract at like $15.5 million.
According to ESPN’s Tom Pelissero, the expectation is that Jones will be commanding more than that. Perhaps considerably more.
Byron Jones isn’t a huge name outside of Dallas, thanks in part to just two career interceptions. But teams expect the versatile former first-round pick to command $16 million to $18 million a year in free agency, making him the highest-paid defensive back in NFL history.
Breaking an NFL team’s salary cap situation looks great for an NFL agent, but often doesn’t work out for the player. At least not from a career standpoint. You don’t need to dig into the past to see examples of this.
Right now the news out of New York is that Trumaine Johnson is going to be cut. Just two off-seasons ago, the former Ram was the top cornerback on the market, signing a five-year, $72 million contract. Now, even while leaving $12 million in dead money, the Jets are taking the hit and backing out rather than reach the expensive part of his contract in which he was to make $15 million, $17 million, and $18.5 million over the next three seasons.
And teams think Jones will want to be paid as much or more than that? Will the Raiders be among those teams vying to give him that kind of money? It’s a tough call I wouldn’t want to have to make.
Jones isn’t the only decent cornerback on the market. There are a few others worth considering if the Raiders decide they can’t afford or won’t pay Jones’s asking price.
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