Why Are People So Impatient With Young Quarterbacks?
There’s one thing that continues to be something that confuses me about the NFL and NFL media as a whole. It seems that now, people are so much more likely to quickly move off a young quarterback. But why? Why are people so impatient with young quarterbacks? “Good things are worth the wait,” well why do people never seem to want to wait for young quarterbacks to develop? After thinking, I’ve found a couple answers.
Rookie Wage Scale
With the current CBA, rookies coming into the NFL make a fixed amount of money on their rookie contracts based on draft position. That wasn’t always the case. The draft used to be that the team would get the rights to a player, then they’d have to negotiate a contract with the player. No fixed number, the team is almost entirely at the mercy of the player and how much money they want. Rookie first-round quarterbacks got absolutely paid! Matthew Stafford’s rookie contract was worth $72 million. Before he had taken a single snap in the NFL, he signed a $72 million contract. Trevor Lawrence’s rookie contract is worth $36.8 million. That rookie wage scale is making a difference.
A Small Spoiled Bunch
Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, and Justin Herbert. What do they all have in common? They completely screwed up all expectations of first-round quarterbacks. These three have made it expected that rookie quarterbacks just hit the ground running and light the league up. Um, no that’s not how it actually works. Josh Allen took time, Drew Brees took a long time, Peyton Manning threw 28 interceptions in his rookie year and went 3-13!! When you hear hoofbeats, think horses not zebras. Mahomes, Jackson, and Herbert are the exceptions, not the standard. The Falcons gave up on Brett Favre after one year and four pass attempts, would it kill people to be patient?
Most good things take time, and finding a quarterback in the NFL is no different. Give players some time, they need it to adjust to the different routine and circumstances that are being in the NFL. The Falcons were kicking themselves for giving away a Hall of Famer, Mahomes needed a year to sit, Jackson peaked in his second year. Let’s give people time to adjust, we’d want it if we were ever fortunate to be in their situation.
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