I live far enough away from New York that I can only occasionally receive the broadcasts of WFAN, and have to make some effort to check out the local media buzz about sports. From what I’ve been able to suss out, though, it seems the majority opinion is that the Jets are being too hardline with Darrelle Revis and really should give him what he wants.
Some say that the Jets have a legit shot at a Super Bowl with Revis, but not really without him. I disagree, but I’ll let their fans debate that one. But others contend that Revis’ demands are reasonable, that he’s the best corner in the league, that he’s “outplayed his contract” and that he deserves to be paid at least as much as Nnamdi Asomugha.
I beg to differ. Not with all of those points, only with the conclusion.
Is Revis being reasonable? That depends on how one analyzes the situation, of course, and is a matter of opinion.
Is he the best corner in the league? Some might argue the point, but I say yes, he is.
Has Revis outplayed his contract? Yes.
But does that mean the Jets should be expected to give him a long-term deal commensurate with Asomugha’s? Keeping in mind that the Raiders were widely viewed to have overpaid Asomugha, let’s use him as a benchmark.
Thanks to my brother who did some research to find these numbers (source: USA Today’s salary database), we can look at what Asomugha made in his first six years. Revis has played three.
Year 1 $3,575,000 (2003)
Year 2 $470,100
Year 3 $560,720
Year 4 $650,280
Year 5 $1,240,760
Year 6 (Opted out of contract and was franchised. Jets can’t franchise Revis)
Got $9,765,000
Total: $16,351,860
Now, let’s look at what Revis has made and would be due on the remainder of his contract.
Year 1 $5,319,000 (2007)
Year 2 $2,670,000
Year 3 $6,260,000
Year 4 $1,000,000
Year 5 $5,000,000
Year 6 $15,000,000
Total: $35,249,000
Continue reading “Is Darrelle Revis really being underpaid?”
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