The NFL offseason officially began at 4 p.m. EST on Tuesday, and teams did not hesitate to splurge on a very talented free agent class. Wide receivers Vincent Jackson and Reggie Wayne, cornerbacks Carlos Rogers and Cortland Finnegan and defensive end Red Bryant all secured contracts worth over $30 million each from their respective new employers. All of these players are capable of single-handedly changing a game.
While the flashy, high-priced moves are the types that energize fan bases and sell tickets to fill stadium seats, in many cases, these transactions end up financially handicapping these teams, and the players become burdens. The position that most frequently produces expensive busts is wide receiver. Looking back over the last four seasons, there are plenty of examples of wideouts who were overpaid. In 2008, Bernard Berrian signed a six-year, $42 million deal with the Minnesota Vikings, and DonteStallworth signed a seven-year, $35 million deal with the Cleveland Browns. In 2009, T.J. Houshmandzadeh signed a five-year, $40 million deal with the Seattle Seahawks, and Laveranues Coles signed a four-year, $28 million deal with the Cincinnati Bengals. In 2011, Sidney Rice signed a five-year, $41 million deal with the Seahawks. None of these players came close to playing at the level their contracts indicated.
Enter the 2012 class of wideouts. The only marquee wide receivers to change jerseys thus far have been Jackson, who signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for five years and $55 million, and Robert Meacham, who signed a four-year, $25.9 million contract with the San Diego Chargers.
I understand the logic that Tampa Bay has a young quarterback who struggled mightily last season, that their receiving corps is subpar, that they were way under the cap this offseason and that the organization is desperately trying to sell more tickets. But spending at least $26 million guaranteed on a player who has never caught more than 68 passes or nine touchdowns and never reached 1,200 yards receiving is short-sighted. Jackson possesses exceptional jump-ball skills and is a great deep threat, but the consistency is just not there. In comparison, Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Roddy White was signed for six years and $48 million in 2009, and has been better for longer than Jackson. Is 2009 going too far back for you? How about the deal Marques Colston just signed to stay with the New Orleans Saints at five years and $40 million? Colston and Jackson have almost identical production, and Colston is actually half a year younger than Jackson.
At the end of the day, the Bucs can at least fall back on the rationale that they did what it took to secure a No. 1 receiver. Fine, let them have that. But the money the Chargers gave Meachem is indefensible. Meachem was just the fifth-leading receiver this season for the Saints, despite playing in all 16 games. While he is entering only his fifth season and most of his career is in front of him, his production has remained stagnant the past three seasons, if it has not already begun to regress. The Chargers needed to fill the void at No.1 receiver that Jackson's departure created, but a player who has never surpassed 45 catches, 722 yards or nine TDs is not the answer. He is purely a deep threat, much like the newly departed Jackson, but the Chargers already had a Jackson clone in Malcom Floyd, whose yards per reception actually surpasses both Jackson and Meachem. In short, the Meachem deal was a desperate attempt to fleece the Charger fan base into forgetting that one of their best offensive weapons just left town.
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Alex Arthur is a sophomore majoring in economics and English. He can be reached at Alexander.Arthur@tufts.edu.
