Joe Burrow’s upcoming contract extension with the Cincinnati Bengals is going to be massive.
But the “how” is what generally dominates the conversation.
For example, there’s the debate about whether Burrow will take a so-called “team friendly” deal, or at least structure it in a way that makes it easier for the team to afford him, plus big weapons around him.
An outlier — but very interesting one — is the idea that Burrow might receive a percentage of the salary cap in the deal. It’s a topic that just came up on Pat McAfee’s show, via Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio.
“One of these guys is gonna get a deal that pays him a percentage of the salary cap and that’s fair..that’s the way to do it,” Florio said. “We talk about leaving enough money aside for the rest of the team…if anybody’s gonna do it, it’s gonna be Joe Burrow. And if any owner is going to do it, it’s gonna be Mike Brown. He’s been that contrarian that does things the league doesn’t want him to do.”
This sort of creative idea would be a first, trailblazing a sort of new era of quarterback contracts. For the Bengals, perhaps it’s better to get out in front of it on their own terms, maybe?
Either way, something that breaks traditional structure like this might be appealing to Burrow and his reps. Maybe it’s a way for the two parties to bridge the gap between the player wanting shorter years so they can re-up faster at a higher number and the team wanting longer deals for obvious reasons.
If nothing else, it’s something to keep in mind as Burrow watch continues.
"One of these QBs is gonna get a deal that pays him a percentage of the salary cap and that's fair..
If anybody is gonna do it I think it will be Joe Burrow" ~ @ProFootballTalk #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/zQbO0Vpnwm
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) May 25, 2023
