Julius Thomas to Jacksonville

[TxHeat]

Never to be heard from again.

 

[ducky]

Peyton Manning should be owed a portion of both of their contracts.

Decker hauled in 74 passes for 962 yards despite missing a little playing time and having a QB carousel of Vick and Smith throwing to him. He earned his paycheck last year.

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

Well if Jax can get offensive line help (why they got rid of Monroe was BEYOND me) and maybe land Amari Cooper or something, their offense might start to generate. I still have no clue why they drafted Bortles last year when Mack/Watkins/Mathews/Barr made SO much more sense, but I digress.

 

[ducky]

I never understand these players and just going after the biggest contract they can find on the open market. If a player is truly thinking about how to maximize money then going to a winning organization is truly the way to go. Say he had resigned with the Broncos and they are right in the running for a Super Bowl again or had picked the Seahawks. This then gets his face in primetime games and in front of the media on a regular basis. This means more endorsement opportunities. So let's say he only makes $7 million a year playing for the Broncos but is able to bring in $4 million in endorsements compared to $9 million with the Jaguars but only $1 million in actual endorsements. Which way has truly maximized a player's earning power? Now I understand some of this then will depend on the player actually producing but I for one would be one willing to bet on myself.

All of that is a big reason that I do think Cobb stayed with the Packers. You will not find a better situation in the NFL to maximize his abilities than that of playing with Rodgers. If he goes to the Raiders like many thought good chance that in a few years he is just considered a mediocre WR struggling to find a team to sign him to another contract.

Look at Denver's contracts out there. This shouldn't have surprised anyone. I bet the Broncos didn't make an offer that guaranteed Thomas half of what he will make as a Jag. They just have too many big contracts out there already and still have to have enough set aside for a new Von miller deal.

And Thomas knows he gets injured more than anyone (he's the one who gets to deal with the pain after all). He knew he had to get as much as he could guaranteed.

And endorsements for the 5th or 6th best marketable player on a good team isn't going to be much different (if any at all) than being the 1st or 2nd most marketable player on a bad team.

And if anything he'll get more marketable because he will get probably double the amount of balls thrown at him this coming season than he would have with Denver.

TE Targets
Gronk: 130
Bennet (Chi): 129
Graham: 124
Walker (Tenn): 108
Rivera (Oak): 99
Gates: 99
Cook: 98
Fleener: 92
A bunch of other TE's
....
....
Thomas: 60



There is a WR in the league that is named Chris Hogan (I had no idea) that actually had more balls thrown at him than Thomas did in Denver. And I am not blaming Denver for not making him a bigger part of the O with all the weapons they have and how Thomas looked after the ankle, but he should put up a lot more stats in Jacksonville than he would in Denver and stats usually = $$$. And quite honestly I bet that somewhere in the back of Thomas' mind (and in the forefront of his agent's mind), his not being more utilized in Denver cost him a ton of money already.

 

[night]

Look on the bright side with a big contract in Jacksonville he can work on his golf game without having to worry about the playoffs.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Decker hauled in 74 passes for 962 yards despite missing a little playing time and having a QB carousel of Vick and Smith throwing to him. He earned his paycheck last year.

Fair assessment. Definitely can't fault him for his QBs inadequacies...

 

[ducky]

Look on the bright side with a big contract in Jacksonville he can work on his golf game without having to worry about the playoffs.

People say that but if you look at who is more likely to be a playoff team in 2017 when Thomas will be in the back half of that contract, the Broncos or the Jags, I would probably say it is at the very least an even money bet.

 

[hockey878]

Look at Denver's contracts out there. This shouldn't have surprised anyone. I bet the Broncos didn't make an offer that guaranteed Thomas half of what he will make as a Jag. They just have too many big contracts out there already and still have to have enough set aside for a new Von miller deal.

And Thomas knows he gets injured more than anyone (he's the one who gets to deal with the pain after all). He knew he had to get as much as he could guaranteed.

And endorsements for the 5th or 6th best marketable player on a good team isn't going to be much different (if any at all) than being the 1st or 2nd most marketable player on a bad team.

And if anything he'll get more marketable because he will get probably double the amount of balls thrown at him this coming season than he would have with Denver.

TE Targets
Gronk: 130
Bennet (Chi): 129
Graham: 124
Walker (Tenn): 108
Rivera (Oak): 99
Gates: 99
Cook: 98
Fleener: 92
A bunch of other TE's
....
....
Thomas: 60



There is a WR in the league that is named Chris Hogan (I had no idea) that actually had more balls thrown at him than Thomas did in Denver. And I am not blaming Denver for not making him a bigger part of the O with all the weapons they have and how Thomas looked after the ankle, but he should put up a lot more stats in Jacksonville than he would in Denver and stats usually = $$$. And quite honestly I bet that somewhere in the back of Thomas' mind (and in the forefront of his agent's mind), his not being more utilized in Denver cost him a ton of money already.

Denver offered him 8 mil a year (3rd highest paid TE) at the beginning of the year. He wanted to be the highest paid though.

As for the targets? JT missed a ton of games this year, and then when he suited up at the end of the year he wasn't healthy and was essentially used as a decoy. This is a horrible misrepresentation stats

 

[hockey878]

52 of his targets came in the first 10 weeks (pre-injury). Thats quite a few targets for a guy player in that offense. Especially one who can't run routes for crap.

JT is horribly horribly overrated. Its going to be hilarious watching him fall apart in Jacksonville

 

[hockey878]

And even calling that 10 weeks is a little bit of a stretch since he got hurt early in the rams game

 

[night]

People say that but if you look at who is more likely to be a playoff team in 2017 when Thomas will be in the back half of that contract, the Broncos or the Jags, I would probably say it is at the very least an even money bet.

It wasn't that long ago Denver made the playoffs with Tebow at QB so their core is pretty solid. I think Denver is more likely to be able to rebuild a playoff team than Jacksonville. Once Peyton is off of the books they can get deeper at other positions as well.

 

[Tubbs1518]

It wasn't that long ago Denver made the playoffs with Tebow at QB so their core is pretty solid. I think Denver is more likely to be able to rebuild a playoff team than Jacksonville. Once Peyton is off of the books they can get deeper at other positions as well.

Won't matter with Brock at the QB.

 

[night]

Won't matter with Brock at the QB.

I could definitely see Denver drafting someone else in the next year or two as well since there's no guarantee Brock is the long-term solution once Peyton hangs up the cleats. One bad year from him and they will definitely be drafting a QB in the first round.

 

[cdumler7]

Look at Denver's contracts out there. This shouldn't have surprised anyone. I bet the Broncos didn't make an offer that guaranteed Thomas half of what he will make as a Jag. They just have too many big contracts out there already and still have to have enough set aside for a new Von miller deal.

And Thomas knows he gets injured more than anyone (he's the one who gets to deal with the pain after all). He knew he had to get as much as he could guaranteed.

And endorsements for the 5th or 6th best marketable player on a good team isn't going to be much different (if any at all) than being the 1st or 2nd most marketable player on a bad team.

And if anything he'll get more marketable because he will get probably double the amount of balls thrown at him this coming season than he would have with Denver.

TE Targets
Gronk: 130
Bennet (Chi): 129
Graham: 124
Walker (Tenn): 108
Rivera (Oak): 99
Gates: 99
Cook: 98
Fleener: 92
A bunch of other TE's
....
....
Thomas: 60



There is a WR in the league that is named Chris Hogan (I had no idea) that actually had more balls thrown at him than Thomas did in Denver. And I am not blaming Denver for not making him a bigger part of the O with all the weapons they have and how Thomas looked after the ankle, but he should put up a lot more stats in Jacksonville than he would in Denver and stats usually = $$$. And quite honestly I bet that somewhere in the back of Thomas' mind (and in the forefront of his agent's mind), his not being more utilized in Denver cost him a ton of money already.

This makes me wonder if you watched any Broncos games at all this year. First off the Broncos have plenty of Cap Space to sign just about anybody they want. Heck the Patriots are over the cap and just signed McCourty to just about $10 million a year so Cap Space wise they are fine. There are plenty of reasons they are not signing Julius Thomas. Heck look at the two coaches that were with the Broncos this past year in Del Rio with the Raiders now and Fox with the Bears. Neither of them even put up an offer. That should be telling of the player that he is. Throw in the Broncos most likely have about $30 million coming off the books for next year with Manning and Ware most likely gone so again contracts were not the problem the Broncos just know he isn't worth what he is getting.

As for the targets again hard to think you actually watched any Broncos games this year if you are going to that stat to prove you point. Julius before he sprained his ankle was getting plenty of targets. Heck he was lapping the NFL in touchdowns pretty much through the first half of the season. After his injury he sat out quite a few games even when the trainers deemed him healthy enough to play. He then when he did play was cautious with it as it has been confirmed he pretty much told the team that he did not want to risk injury therefore costing him millions of dollars. He quit on the team to save himself for his next contract. Hard to want to offer that kind of player big money.

As for the endorsement deals we shall see. Let's say he would have stayed healthy this next year and gave the effort that he should have. There is a decent chance he is scoring around 20 touchdowns on the year with the Broncos and Manning. He is then viewed in the likes of Jimmy Graham and Gronk who are both getting pretty darn good endorsement deals. Now Jacksonville might be lucky to score 20 touchdowns in a season. Yes JT might have 10 of them but is that really going to get much of the attention of the companies?

 

[Mondo Jay]

Won't matter with Brock at the QB.

True. He is going to be amazing. Can't wait to see him in action.

 

[cdumler7]

People say that but if you look at who is more likely to be a playoff team in 2017 when Thomas will be in the back half of that contract, the Broncos or the Jags, I would probably say it is at the very least an even money bet.

Obviously hard to tell that far into the future but the Broncos since 2000 have the 7th most wins of any team in the league and only a few of those have been with Manning at the helm so the organization for many years has been one of the best run. Throw in Cap Wise they are considered one of the best in the league as no contract they have signed over the past 3 years actually goes beyond 2 years. Yes they have the ability to go longer if they want but any player on their roster can be cut after 2 years with very little cap damage done. They don't hand out the huge signing bonuses like some of the teams do that get themselves in trouble.

 

[GNG]

Cashing in while he still has rep to his name... Can't fault him for that

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Well if Jax can get offensive line help (why they got rid of Monroe was BEYOND me) and maybe land Amari Cooper or something, their offense might start to generate. I still have no clue why they drafted Bortles last year when Mack/Watkins/Mathews/Barr made SO much more sense, but I digress.

Hard to me to leave Mack or Matthews on the board, but Henne might not be as good as Hoyer...whereas Bortles has a good chance to be the long term answer in JAX. I'd like to be the GM for them.

DEF...the bigs are not bad, ...they really need a speed rusher...Fowler or Beasley fit the bill. The Jags are not that far from being a legit playoff team...at least sporadically.

OFC...

I never understand these players and just going after the biggest contract they can find on the open market. If a player is truly thinking about how to maximize money then going to a winning organization is truly the way to go. Say he had resigned with the Broncos and they are right in the running for a Super Bowl again or had picked the Seahawks. This then gets his face in primetime games and in front of the media on a regular basis. This means more endorsement opportunities. So let's say he only makes $7 million a year playing for the Broncos but is able to bring in $4 million in endorsements compared to $9 million with the Jaguars but only $1 million in actual endorsements. Which way has truly maximized a player's earning power? Now I understand some of this then will depend on the player actually producing but I for one would be one willing to bet on myself.

All of that is a big reason that I do think Cobb stayed with the Packers. You will not find a better situation in the NFL to maximize his abilities than that of playing with Rodgers. If he goes to the Raiders like many thought good chance that in a few years he is just considered a mediocre WR struggling to find a team to sign him to another contract.

I understand...the players know just like we do that unless you're on the OL, or a top shelf QB...3 NFL contracts are few and far between..you've got to make hay on contract #2, if you make it that far.

On your example...yeah, if you're a QB, or a popular player good personality, you might be able to make 7 figures in endorsement money, but that's not a given.

You pocket the extra 2 mil per.

 

[cdumler7]

Hard to me to leave Mack or Matthews on the board, but Henne might not be as good as Hoyer...whereas Bortles has a good chance to be the long term answer in JAX. I'd like to be the GM for them.

DEF...the bigs are not bad, ...they really need a speed rusher...Fowler or Beasley fit the bill. The Jags are not that far from being a legit playoff team...at least sporadically.

OFC...


I understand...the players know just like we do that unless you're on the OL, or a top shelf QB...3 NFL contracts are few and far between..you've got to make hay on contract #2, if you make it that far.

On your example...yeah, if you're a QB, or a popular player good personality, you might be able to make 7 figures in endorsement money, but that's not a given.

You pocket the extra 2 mil per.

I'm not blaming him for chasing the money down in Jacksonville. He has the right to chase the money and honestly if I am in his place with his ankle issues yeah this kind of deal makes sense as you just don't know when the career could be over. So kudos to him for taking advantage of being a big name in the league right now. I also think though it is a bit of a gamble in staying with the Broncos does give him a better chance of marketing himself. Anyway I do wish him well down in Jacksonville.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

I'm not blaming him for chasing the money down in Jacksonville. He has the right to chase the money and honestly if I am in his place with his ankle issues yeah this kind of deal makes sense as you just don't know when the career could be over. So kudos to him for taking advantage of being a big name in the league right now. I also think though it is a bit of a gamble in staying with the Broncos does give him a better chance of marketing himself. Anyway I do wish him well down in Jacksonville.

Yeah...it's a short career...I hate it when my teams loses a key player over money, and PIT has lost quite a few over the years.

I don't feel bad to see Troy P, Ike Taylor, Hinds Ward, etc kicked to the curb, because they got paid...hope they saved some, invested some, never have to work a real job.

I get your point on playing for a contender...that can parlay itself into more cash off the field and even after the career is over.