Heading into the offseason, there was some uncertainty around quarterback Blake Bortles' future with the Jacksonville Jaguars, but that was quickly resolved after he inked a three-year, $54 million deal that extends through the 2020 season.
It was a contract extension that Bortles recently revealed that he had made the decision to model after what reigning league MVP Tom Brady did with the New England Patriots where he took less than money in order to help the franchise build the rest of the roster. (per Jay Johnson of Jaguars Wire)
“I think the way the Tom [Brady] has done it is the way to try to model,” Bortles said. “Having guys and putting pieces around him was definitely something to take note of. When you take up a ton of money [as a quarterback] you kind of limit your team and who they can help you out with and put around you. I’m not naive enough to say that we don’t need a run game. We also need a good defense, we need good receivers, we need all these pieces. You can’t play as a quarterback and do it yourself so I’m more than willing to take less money than someone would in my position to put good guys around us.”
Over the years, Brady has shown a willingness to take less on his deal in order to help the front office to construct the roster around him. Bortles has done some of the same as the decision to take less should give the Jaguars additional financial flexibility to ink their core players to new long-term deals.
Much of this talent is on the defensive side of the ball as linebacker Myles Jack and defensive end Yannick Ngakoue are set to become free agents in 2020. Meanwhile, the Jaguars will have to at some point give All-Pro Jalen Ramsey a lucrative long-term extension.
Beyond this move keeping stability under center for the franchise for the next few seasons, it could be a huge part in keeping their promising core group together for years to come.
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