The most interesting part of the NFL offseason will soon be upon us — free agency. But Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio thinks it could become interesting in more ways than one. He believes that the crop of veteran quarterbacks hitting the market may not make near as much as they expect to make. They will not because they aren’t worth it or the money is not there.
But because of collusion.
Florio uses the growth of the salary cap as potential evidence. He thinks with how the cap has grown; there should already be a $30 million quarterback already.
While he doesn’t say this, teams that have signed franchise quarterbacks in the last year hugged $25 million per season as tight as possible. So, maybe a case could be made.
Article Continues BelowBut then Florio uses the reasonably priced extension Blake Bortles signed ($18 million per season) to argue that maybe teams finally realize it is hard to compete if you overpay one position.
Where this could end up becoming a serious discussion will be the days ahead. The Saints will need to re-sign Drew Brees. While he is old for an NFL player, the Saints do not have a successor in place. The Saints will need Brees if they want to contend again next season. Why he may not demand $30 million, he deserves to be in the mid-to-high $20 million range.
A stronger case for the suspicion of collusion could be made depending on what happens with Kirk Cousins.
There will certainly be a number of teams bidding on his services. If no one makes an offer that surpasses Jimmy Garappolo’s average ($27.5 million), then there may be something fishy going on.