Did You Know... (AJ Green)

[Whatever]

(05-27-2020, 12:53 PM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: Did you know AJ Green is actually the 2nd highest paid receiver in the NFL this year?  Yup, it's true.

For those that didn't know, the franchise tag is an average of the top 5 highest paid receivers.  This year features Julio Jones at the top with a cap hit of 20.4 mil, followed by a log jam of guys b/t 17.25 and 17.95, thus elevating AJ to #2 spot.  Fwiw, here's is the top 10...

Player         Team           Salary Cap Value Cash Spent

Julio Jones          Falcons            $20,416,668        $22,200,000

A.J. Green          Bengals           $18,171,000        $18,171,000

Mike Evans          Buccaneers      $17,950,000        $16,750,000

Tyreek Hill          Chiefs              $17,740,000        $16,290,000

Sammy Watkins   Chiefs              $17,250,000        $9,000,000

Davante Adams  Packers             $16,475,000         $13,000,000

Alshon Jeffery  Eagles               $15,396,500         $11,500,000

Allen Robinson  Bears                $15,000,000        $13,000,000

Jarvis Landry Browns              $14,550,000        $13,050,000
 
T.Y. Hilton         Colts                  $14,542,000        $14,542,000

Misc Notes: Odell Beckham checks in at #11, with a 14.25 mil hit, and Deandre Hopkins checks in at #14 with a 12.5 mil hit

I just wanted to start this thread to really put into perspective just how much we're paying AJ.  As myself and many others have stated, AJ hasn't really been himself since 2015.  I know a lot of you are hopeful he can return to form this year.  Just for fun, let's see just how good he was in 2015...

He had a fantastic year, with 86 rec, 1,297 yards and 10 TD's.  Good for ranks of:

Yards - 8th
Receptions - 14th
TD's - 10th

So even in a prime AJ season, when he was 5 years younger and prior to injuries, he still didn't crack the top 5 in any category.

Now here we are, at age 32, having missed 50% of his games over the last 3 seasons, AJ Green makes more than every single receiver not named Julio Jones.  Think about that.  Really think about that.

So many of you wanted him, and now you've got him.  I hope he's worth it.

I pointed this out awhile back in another thread. We're basically paying Top 2 money for a guy we'll be lucky to get Top 20 production out of given his age and injury history.

It's a terrible RoI.  Fortunately, it didn't stop the team from going whole hog in FA, but we could easily land Watford with that money.