Wolf’s frustration stems from three high-profile quarterback dramas over the past five months. First, Watson became “extremely unhappy” with the Texans for failing to involve him in the team’s GM hiring. (Though, obviously, Watson is facing far bigger concerns off the field at the moment.) Next, it was Wilson conducting a media tour to point out all of the errors of the Seahawks’ ways. (Yes, just this week, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll claimed this is “old news” — we’ll see about that.) And over the past month, we’ve seen Rodgers stage a quiet protest in Green Bay while cronies carry out his message.
“All three of these guys have signed long-term contracts, and they’re under contract,” Wolf said this week. “So I’m sure, at that time, there wasn’t anybody holding a gun to their head saying, ‘You have to sign.’ But now, they’re not happy. They’re not happy with the team they signed a contract with.
“We’ve got a lot of divas playing in the league right now.”
Wolf’s viewpoint on how a number of quarterbacks operate in 2021 matches my own: They want all of the cash and power, but none of the responsibility and accountability that comes with it. When the team fails to advance to the Super Bowl, the quarterback and his supporters point to the lack of help around him. Yet, the quarterbacks making the most money also restrict a team’s ability to surround him with premier talent. That is part of the reason why we rarely see the most highly compensated quarterbacks winning the season’s final game. It is extremely challenging to build up the other parts of the team while paying the quarterback top-of-the-food-chain money. To do so, the team must knock it out of the park in the draft, where a franchise can benefit from cheap labor with big-time production potential. While these teams can also fill holes with veterans playing on minimum contracts as yearly rentals, the bulk of the roster must consist of younger players playing on their original rookie contracts.
And while we’re talkin’ contracts … How much of this drama revolves around the almighty dollar? While many analysts and observers offer myriad reasons for the discontentment from the disgruntled quarterbacks, I think the real issue behind their bruised feelings could be contractual. It’s never a bad idea to follow the money, is it?
Remember back on that wild first day of the 2021 NFL Draft, when the Rodgers news kicked into overdrive? NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported on that Thursday that the quarterback and the Packers had been negotiating a contract for weeks, and at times during the negotiations, Rodgers had been unhappy. Per Rapoport, Rodgers wanted a long-term extension with contractual security, but did not want a restructure.
Fresh off his third MVP campaign in a Hall of Fame career, Rodgers still has three years left on his existing contract — as does Wilson. But the old heads have been surpassed on the annual salary front by the likes of Patrick Mahomes, Dak Prescott and Watson, who all now average at least $39 million per year. Oh, and Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson are poised to join the $40 Million QB Club in the very near future. I believe all of this is relevant information when it comes to the turmoil surrounding Rodgers and Wilson.
I also believe that Ron Wolf speaks the truth: Some franchise quarterbacks think they should run the franchise — and that, as the Hall of Fame GM said, is quite a dilemma.
