Last summer, when star players such as Aaron Rodgers, Deshaun Watson, Russell Wilson, and Davante Adams got new, lucrative contracts worth an insane amount of money, the NFL‘s contract landscape reached a new equilibrium point.
This summer, it could become even more insane.
Justin Herbert, Jalen Hurts, Joe Burrow, and Jalen Hurts, some of the best and most promising young quarterbacks in the league, could receive contract extensions, and it could elevate the market even more.
The race between Justin Herbert, Jalen Hurts, Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson is on. https://t.co/9cGqWdrI65
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 28, 2023
There seem to be two schools of thought regarding such huge contracts.
Some feel it is great for these players, especially since plenty of pro athletes, regardless of their race, grow up poor or disadvantaged, and the millions of dollars they earn empower themselves and their families.
This money can help their families establish generational wealth, something that is exceedingly rare in American society and very hard to come by.
In addition, many NFL players practice philanthropy, whether it is investing back into their communities or establishing charities.
On the other hand, some deride these big contracts, partly because teams can use them as an excuse to raise ticket prices.
With the disappearance of the once-great American middle class over the last 40 years, as well as the current inflation problem, it has been very difficult for the average working-poor household to scrap together enough money to go to an NFL game.
But money talks, and when a great player such as Herbert, Hurts, Burrow, or Jackson can earn $50 million a year, it’s hard to argue against taking advantage of that opportunity.
