Wednesday morning the Detroit Lions and Matthew Stafford agreed to a three-year contract extension that would give the 25-year old quarterback a chance to make $53 million dollars over the course of the deal (if he finishes it) but be guaranteed at least $41.5 million.
The deal for Stafford however also gives him the opportunity to sign one last mega deal before he turns 30, that of course dependent on IF he’s able to perform these next few seasons.
After Stafford though the attention now focuses on Atlanta QB Matt Ryan whose on the last year of his rookie deal that barring any extension will pay him $67.5 million over six years.
It would seem that a deal between Ryan and the Falcons would be in the works however could Stafford’s decision ultimately complicate these negotiations for the Falcons’ QB and the organization?
ProFootballTalk.com’s Mike Florio wonders just that based on the idea that Stafford perhaps took less signing now rather than hitting the open market when his rookie deal was up…
…Stafford took less than he could have gotten, if he’d finished his contract and forced the Lions to use the franchise tag in 2015, and possibly beyond.
Market value doesn’t matter for a player whose team will never let him hit the market. Stafford, over the next five years, could have leveraged nearly $114 million out of the Lions, if he was willing to carry the injury risk on a year-in, year-out basis and if the Lions were committed to keeping him. He chose to take more than $37 million less over the next five years in order to get more than $40 million of the total amount guaranteed today.
Ryan’s position may be further complicated based on him being 28 now and 29 once his deal is up next offseason. Unlike Stafford this will be Ryan’s last opportunity to sign one last big deal before his value begins to decline.
So does he sign an extension now or wait till free agency rolls around?
Like Stafford though Ryan probably could garner more on the open market which obviously could be a tremendous risk based on how the season goes. Still, Ryan more than likely holds all the cards in this situation, if he wants to sign now the Falcons would probably be more than willing to get a deal done.
