Deebo Samuel, Terry McLaurin and A.J. Brown are three of the most electric playmakers in the NFL.
But they each plan to keep that lightning bottled up this offseason — and rightfully so.
The star wideouts for the 49ers, Commanders and Titans, respectively, don’t plan to participate in on-field work with their teams in the coming weeks, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
It’s a smart move, and one that every fourth-year player with leverage should seriously consider.
Brown, McLaurin and Samuel are Pro Bowl-level talents that would command more than $20 million per season on the exploding wide receiver open market.
But all three are still on their rookie contracts, which are set to pay each of them less than $5 million in base salary in 2022.
According to @spotrac, these are the projected extensions in line for superstars sitting out 👇
Deebo Samuel:
💰 4 yrs, $89.8M
💰 $22.4M avg (WR rank: 5)Terry McLaurin:
💰 4 yrs, $97.7M
💰 $24.4M avg (WR rank: 5)AJ Brown:
💰 4 yrs, $91.1M
💰 $22.7M avg (WR rank: 5) pic.twitter.com/kOKu03zimc— The Game Day NFL (@TheGameDayNFL) April 18, 2022
Offseason injuries are rare, but they do happen, and the last thing a young star should do is put himself at risk before securing a big payday.
Samuel, in particular, should know this all too well. Last offseason, 49ers players Tarvarius Moore (Achilles) and Justin Skule (ACL) suffered significant injuries on the same June day of offseason work.
“Every time you play a sport or every time you do anything, you’ve got a chance to get hurt,” coach Kyle Shanahan said after those injuries. “So obviously that goes up, but that’s what we’re paid to do.”
The risk is understandable for the players making a salary commensurate to their worth, but those three receivers, along with Seattle pass-catcher DK Metcalf and Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray, would potentially lose out on tens of millions of dollars by getting injured now.
It makes no sense for them to take the field while being paid approximately 20 percent of their market value.
Murray’s teammate, linebacker Kylie Fitts, was forced into an early retirement last week due to concussions, another reminder at how quickly an NFL career can end.
There is a faction of NFL people that turn into amateur lawyers during every holdout, screaming that players signed these contracts and need to honor them.
It’s funny, though, because teams rarely receive backlash when they fail to honor contracts in the annual purging of veterans each offseason.
Kyler Murray has two years left on his contract. https://t.co/f0NTApvfq9
— Peter Schrager (@PSchrags) April 14, 2022
Furthermore, these are standard rookie contracts. When youngsters join the NFL, they already have a slotted, non-negotiable salary dependent on their draft spot.
For three years, those players dutifully go about their business, and stars like Samuel, Brown, McLaurin, Metcalf and Murray return incredible surplus value to their employers.
The Collective Bargaining Agreement allows them to negotiate a contract extension heading into their fourth seasons, and in a fair system, organizations would happily pay market value after getting previous production for dimes on the dollar.
I’m not necessarily criticizing front offices for their stance, because everyone’s goal in any walk of life is to maximize their setup.
The players want to be rewarded financially for their production, while teams want as much salary cap space as possible to build a contender.
But players seem to get the bulk of the criticism in these situations, even after playing under suppressed wages for years.
Brown, McLaurin and Samuel have every right to prioritize their financial well-being by refusing to step onto the field until an extension is reached.
In fact, Metcalf and Murray should strongly consider doing the same.
