Recently traded and extended at gold price, Tyreek Hill and Davante Adams are symbols of an increasingly important position in the NFL. At a time when the league is increasingly focused on the pass, zoom in on the exchanges of these two players, standards of an increasingly popular position.
If the recipient market is a very important for several years now, the compensation offered for Davante Adams and Tyreek Hill followed by the contracts offered to them perfectly mark the turn taken by the league in recent years. The game has evolved, the position has gained importance and its stars now claim contracts close to the sums touchedes by quarterbacks.
Adams, cravings elsewhere
Most Anticipated Player among those at the end of the contractDavante Adams was the one who dynamited the market. Reference on his position, perhaps the best on the past financial year (123 receptions, 1,553 yards, 11 TDs), he could claim a record contract. Tagged by the Packers, for fear of losing him, they were ready to offer him this contract, but Adams simply wanted elsewhere. Wanting to leave Wisconsin, he was eventually sent to Las Vegas to reunite with his former teammate at Fresno State in NCAA, giving a new dimension to this attack.
What marks in this exchange, in addition to the turn that Adams takes to the offensive squad of the Raiders, it is especially the perks, namely the compensations and the contract given to the player. To afford his services, Las Vegas sent its first and second round of the 2022 Draft: heavy capital, but similar to what the Seahawks had, for example, given to the Jets to afford Jamal Adams. For a player of this caliber, the compensation is far from fabulous, but remains important in view of the player’s situation.
For the contract, on the other hand, it is unheard of. In order to secure the player’s future in Nevada, the franchise offered him a five-year, $141.25 million contract. A contract which therefore made him – at the time of the exchange – the highest paid receiver in the league with an incredible average of 28.25 million dollars per year. By comparison, only Deandre Hopkins and his $27.25 million a year come close to that average, far ahead of Keenan Allen and his $20 million a year. From an isolated case, Hopkins found a companion, almost falling into the norm.
Davante Adams get a new contract worth $141.25M over 5 years, source say. He gets an average of $28.25 average. https://t.co/YTAxHov0Rj
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 17, 2022
Hill, money first
If Davante Adams has dynamited the market, it is mainly because of this new contract signed with Las Vegas. Receiving a record sum on the position, he obviously influenced all his colleagues in search, like him, of a new contract. Starting with Tyreek Hill.
Centerpiece of the Kansas City offense and go-to-guy of Patrick Mahomes, the one we nicknamed Cheetah saw a door open, and didn’t hesitate to go through it. Eager to obtain a similar check, he was forced by the Chiefs to seek a new franchise, and his salvation came from Miami, which did not hesitate to drop several assets to offer his services. Indeed, to convince KC to let go of his jewel, the Dolphins paid the high price, namely five draft rounds including a first and a second from 2022. More than for Davante Adams therefore, like the extension he initialed in stride.
Chiefs are trading six-time Pro-Bowl WR Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins for five draft picks: a 2022 1st-round pick (No. 29), a 2nd-round pick (No. 50) and a 4th-round pick, as well as 4th- and 6th-round picks in the 2023 draft, sources tell ESPN.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 23, 2022
Indeed, if the former favorite target of Aaron Rodgers was entitled to more than 28 million dollars a year, Tyreek Hill will emerge for his part at 30 million the season, thanks to a contract of 120 million dollars over four years. . In comparison, in the 2022 offseason, only the new contracts of Deshaun Watson, Matthew Stafford and Aaron Rodgers are more significant, while Von Miller will earn as much but over six seasons. Unheard of therefore, and a new certificate that the position of receiver is gaining in value over the years.
Overall, this is a 4-year extension worth $120M per agent @DrewJRosenhaus with $72.2M guaranteed. As @TomPelissero said, the 3-year numbers are below. https://t.co/3Ntrj8Edm6
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 23, 2022
The explosion of a market
Cases for the moment semi-isolated, Davante Adams and Tyreek Hill have everything to be those who open a path already partially traced by Deandre Hopkins. With the importance of the position growing, attacks increasingly oriented towards the pass and a salary cap again on the rise, paying a receiver will, in years to come, surely be almost as expensive as paying a starting quarterback.
The excessive pass
To explain the rise in prices among receivers, one need only look at the growing importance of the aerial game in modern American football. Since 2010, the average passing yards per game per team has always exceeded 220 yards/game, a total that had never been reached before. Even more striking, since 2013 only two years (2017 and 2021) have averaged less than 235 yards/game. If this can be explained by the increase in the number of passes attempted and, even more so, by the number of passes completed, this certainly testifies to the growing importance of this sector of play.
Thus, the importance – already paramount – of the quarterback position has increased, as has that of the receiver position. The centerpiece of the attack, the quarterback remains the most valuable and, therefore, often the highest-paid man in a franchise, but receivers are now hot on their heels. In an increasingly offensive-minded NFL, catching the leather is, these days, almost as important as throwing it. For example, Larry Fitzgerald signed an eight-year extension in 2011 for $120 million, a record for the time; is exactly what Tyreek Hill will touch in half as many seasons. Udata that explains the surge in wages, as well as the devaluation of other positions that also benefits receivers.
The devaluation of runners, collateral damage
Yes the salary cap has been increasing gradually for several seasons, this only partially explains the increase in salaries for receivers. Indeed, managing the budget of a franchise consists largely of making choices according to the different positions, and paying a receiver more expensive necessarily implies giving less money to other people. The position most affected by a devaluation is undoubtedly that of running back. Very important in the last century, the ground game continues to lose importance over the seasons, as evidenced by the drop in the number of yards in the team race and the now reluctance to choose a runner in the first round of the draft. In wages, this is also felt, because the gap between receivers and runners is now enormous.
Among running backs, only three players, Christian McCaffrey (Panthers), Alvin Kamara (Saints) and Ezekiel Elliott (Cowboys), earn more than $15 million per season. In comparison, they are nineteen among the receivers. More strikingly, McCaffrey, who makes about $16 million a year, wouldn’t be in the top 15 if he was a receiver. Another proof of the value of the position: among the eight receivers who will earn at least $ 20 million per season from 2022, six have signed it this year. The value of these players is therefore increasing, and their spearhead, Tyreek Hill, is next in categories never reached. Indeed, the neo-Dolphin and his annual 30 million are above TJ Watt ($28.5 million/year), the highest paid defender, and match the salary of Matt Ryan, the tenth highest paid quarterback. Gripping for a position that continues to gain in importance.
Signatories of the most expensive contracts in history on their position, Davante Adams and Tyreek Hill symbolize the explosion of the market for receivers, where everyone is gradually taking their share of the pie. In a league increasingly focused on the pass, the milestone of 30 million annual dollars, passed by the Dolphins player, seems to be only one step.
Feature image credit: David Eulitt/Getty Images
Louis Rousseau
The words “Minnesota Miracle” and “No-Call” are scratched from my vocabulary. My heart mourns the retirement of Drew Brees as my eyes finally widen watching the Knicks.
