Kaepernick's Record Setting Deal Means Even Bigger Bucks for Cam Newton

Thursday, June 5, 2014

Kaepernick's Record Setting Deal Means Even Bigger Bucks for Cam Newton

Things are getting hot outside, and Carolina is feeling the heat. Yesterday, San Francisco 49er quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, inked a scorching hot deal worth 123 million over 6 years. The steamiest part was the guaranteed money—61 million, the highest ever in NFL history.

A hot commodity in a new age of mobile, athletic quarterbacks, Kaepernick found tremendous success in his first three seasons. Supported by a strong offensive line and relentless running game, Kaepernick has made one Super Bowl and two NFC Conference Championship appearances. Kaeperick’s sample size may be small, but it is impressive. This success was clearly enough for San Francisco to spend the big bucks to lock down Kaepernick for the long hall.

No doubt, this deal will affect Cam Newton’s future contract signing. Even if Cam and Kaepernick hadn’t been compared side-by-side throughout their careers, this deal would have inflated Cam’s value. Quarterback contracts have been ballooning since Joe Flacco’s post-Super Bowl contract. The market norm is big money for quarterbacks. As of late, they haven’t even needed a ring to get it, and in some cases even have all that much success (Matt Stafford). NFL analysist, Albert Breer, declared that Kaepernick’s deal only further supports the death of the 2^nd tier quarterback contract, tweeting:

$19M per year is a lot for Kaepernick. But again, there's no real 2nd-tier for quarterback deals. This complicates Smith/Dalton situations.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) June 4, 2014

Cam and Kaepernick, however, also represent the new NFL quarterback--big guys with big arms that can burn defenses in the air and on the ground. Kaepernick’s big signing, after such a short period as a starter, also represents a new era of NFL quarterback contracts--big and guaranteed.

#C3 has been clear on our stance that Cam is greater than Kaepernick. Newton may have not had the post-season successes that Kaepernick has, but his tenure in Carolina has been under distinctly different circumstances. Newton took over a 2-14. Kaepernick took over a playoff team. Carolina’s defense did come together last season, but Carolina’s personnel has paled in comparison during the two young quarterbacks careers.

Cam’s 2013 performance suggests he’s on the road to upper-level quarterback status. At the very least, it showed he is in the same category as Kaepernick. Cam’s deal won’t be any smaller that Kaepernick's, nor should it be. Yea that’s right, Cam is greater than Kaepernick, and his contract will be too.

So far, Gettleman has managed to keep cool while in the Carolinas. He may currently be in the shade of Cam’s 5^th year option, but it’s still 96 degrees. Cam is the hotter commodity, and Carolina will have to pay the big bucks to keep him around. Bleacher Report’s Peter Panacy messaged me today that Kaepernick’s deal, given where the quarterback market is going, could be a “steal” in a few years. Well Cam’s contract is up in two, and I don’t see him being any cheaper. Honestly, I don’t see his contract being less if signed today.

What do you think? Will Cam’s contract be greater than Kaepernick’s? Would his contract be more if signed today?