Rich Kid

NFL Network's Rich Eisen has often mentioned his conversation at the 2009 NFL Draft with soon to be drafted Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford. Eisen discovered that Stafford only had a dollar in his wallet. That single dollar has had a whole lot of company since that night. With two years left on his current contract, this week the Detroit Lions signed Stafford to a three-year contract extension. He'll take home $76.5 million over the next five years. Before taxes, agent stuff and such. His $15.3 million average annual salary puts him among the 10 highest paid players in the NFL. Stafford's entry into the league came at a great time, at least financially. He was one of the last #1 overall picks before the new CBA so his first contract was massive. He struggled a little with injuries in his first couple of seasons. Sine he's been healthy, he's put up passing statistics more often seen in video games. Those big passing numbers have already brought about two contract extensions. From the Lions point of view, the extensions eased salary cap strain while keeping their franchise quarterback in Detroit for at least the next five seasons. From Stafford's point of view, he's pocketing those outstanding signing bonuses. The 15.3 average annual salary seems lofty but it's low compared to the contracts that the top quarterbacks are signing now. Still, Matthew Stafford doesn't have to worry about lonely dollar bills anymore. At only 25 years of age, he's already cashed in on three huge signing bonuses. He'll be a free agent at 29. There's no telling how high quarterback contracts will be then. That's a lot of cash for so few wins. So far.

The wins. Or, lack of wins. Quarterbacks always get the won-loss record hung on them. They control the ball. They control the game. There's so much more to it than that. Donovan McNabb said that Stafford has done nothing for the Lions. McNabb is a hack as an analyst. If he's talking about quarterbacks doing nothing for a team, he should use his time as the Minnesota Vikings quarterback as the standard. I don't think that the Lions poor record in recent years should be put entirely on Stafford. The defense has been horrible. Much of the Lions drafting has been questionable, at best. Tackle Gosder Cherilus in the first round in 2008 was ridiculous. Titus Young? Nothing more needs to be said about that pick. It's difficult to rip them for picking Jahvid Best as no one can predict how injuries play out in a career. But, selecting Best, with real concussion questions, in the first round in 2010 was somewhere around crazy. I loved Jahvid Best at Cal. He was an exciting, game-breaking runner but I seriously questioned his football future. His concussions were getting scary. The Lions best draft picks in the last six years were obvious picks, Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson. The jury is still out on the madman Ndamukong Suh. Nick Fairly too. The Lions front office has done their franchise quarterback no favors on the field. Of the field, the Lions have filled his wallet so many times over.

I think that Stafford is a terrific, young quarterback. His mechanics can get a little sloppy but he gets the ball from A to B like few others in the league. The Detroit Lions have a lot to worry about going forward but quarterback isn't one of them. Neither is Calvin Johnson.