[Report] NFL Owners Pushed For Maximum NBA-Like Player Contracts In New CBA

The market for NFL quarterbacks has increased rapidly each years, and league owners tried doing something about it during negotiations for the new CBA.

According to a report from ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, owners were worried "about quarterback earnings" to the point where they looked to add NBA-like maximum player contracts in the CBA.

The idea was brought up early in CBA negotiations, per Fowler, but the players obviously had no interest. The suggestion from the owners didn't go far, and now they'll simply have to give into the contract demands of their superstar quarterbacks.

As Keely Diven of NBC Sports Washington outlined, NBA teams can "re-sign qualified players to maximum five-year contracts worth up to 35 percent of the salary cap with eight percent escalation in each subsequent year."

Fowler detailed that between April 2019 and April 2020, NFL quarterbacks signed contracts worth more than $900 million combined. Since last year, four signal-callers have signed contracts worth $100 million plus.

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Last year, Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks signed a giant four-year extension worth $140 million. That is the second largest quarterback contract in NFL history; Matt Ryan of the Atlanta Falcons signed a five-year extension worth $150 million in the 2018 offseason.

As frustrating as it can be for NFL owners, there's simply no way the players would agree to these supermax deals. For a while now, many players have expressed that they want contracts to be fully guaranteed, something the owners won't do. Add it all up, and there was just no way the two sides would work on drastic changes to the contract system for the CBA.

Some teams are fortunate that their quarterbacks are willing to take pay cuts (see Drew Brees and Tom Brady all these years), while others are usually willing to restructure their contracts. But at the end of the day, keeping a top-tier quarterback (before their rookie deal expires) will still cost $20-plus million annually. Owners just have to accept that.

NEXT: NFL Quarterbacks Have Signed Contracts Worth $900 Million In Past Year

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