Comparing The Deals: Jake Long vs Matt Ryan

by Matty I on May 21, 2008 12:15 AM EDT in 2012 Miami Dolphins News

Incase you missed it, the Falcons yesterday reached an agreement with the 3rd overall pick in the draft, Matt Ryan. And the deal is ridiculous. It's a 6 year, $72 million deal that includes $34.75 million in guaranteed money. Yes, that's right. Matt Ryan is getting $72 million from the Falcons as the #3 overall pick.

And we wonder why the owners opted out of the current CBA.

Consider this. Last season's #1 overall pick, JaMarcus Russell, signed a 6 year, $61 million deal which included $29 million in guarantees (that could increase up to $32 million). And he had to hold out until September 10 to get that deal. Matt Ryan, on the other hand, gets a deal that is worth $11 million more in total value and $5 million kore in guaranteed money less than 4 weeks after he was drafted 3rd overall. Not first. Third.

Wow.

OK. Let me take a deep breath before continuing.

Alright. The point of this post, though, is not to just talk about how amazed I am about this deal the Falcons just handed Ryan. I think we all need to take a step back for a moment and just talk about what an amazing job Miami's front office did reaching the deal that they did with Jake Long. Long's deal of 5 years, $57.75 million, which includes $30 million in guaranteed money looks like a steal right now. Well, relatively speaking, of course. Remember, Long instantly became the highest paid offensive lineman in the league despite not ever having played a single down.

Now we don't know exactly how Long's or Ryan's contract breaks down. However, if you break down the deals to basic yearly averages, the Dolphins did a hell of a job with their deal for Jake.

	Yrs	Total	Guar	Total/Yr	Guar/Yr
Jake Long	5	$57.75	$30	$11.55	$6
Matt Ryan	6	$72	$34.75	$12	$5.79

So as you can see, the Dolphins are paying the #1 overall pick less money per year than the Falcons are paying the #3 overall pick. Yes, the Dolphins had to guarantee a little bit more, but that's well worth the long-term benefit that the Dolphins achieved.

Of course, the one downside here is that Long will hit the open market a year earlier. So let's just hope Jake comes in and excels right from the beginning, meaning the Dolphins would lock him up to a long-term deal before he ever sniffs free agency.

Kudos to the Dolphins' front office!

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Comments

First, there is the QB premium.

Second, that last year on a 6 yr deal is usually a ridiculously high number just to pad the size of the contract. Also, I think your bonus $ amount for Russell was a little low. I’ve seen it at $31mil or $32mil in most places. I’m sure the Falcons were motivated by Arthur Blank’s desire to put the new face on the franchise and get it done quickly, which played to Matt Ryan’s favor. I hate the system of paying the top draft picks the way it is now, but I believe that the money spent on Matt Ryan will be well worth it in the end.

by dab415217 on May 21, 2008 7:59 AM EDT reply actions

Russell

I said that it "could" increase to $32 million if he hits some incentives, but nobody knows for sure what those incentives are. The $29 million figure is what NFL Network used to compare the two deals (Ryan and Russell).

The Phinsider: SBN's Miami Dolphins blog

by Matty I on May 21, 2008 12:37 PM EDT up reply actions

I love my Fins

Glad we aren’t the Raiders and Falcons.

Are you picking up what I'm putting down?

by Neo on May 22, 2008 8:15 AM EDT reply actions

There is no downside to the contract being a year shorter… unless Long turns out to be a giant superstar, his next contract will likely involve taking a paycut.

Very good decision by the Dolphins.

And Ryan? We know how difficult it is to score with QBs, so we’ll see.

by icerob on May 22, 2008 1:51 PM EDT reply actions