Here's the Lions' conundrum with Jared Goff: "The longer you wait, the more it will cost you," says Mike Valenti.
That is, the longer they way to extend him, if he continues to play well, the higher his price tag will climb. The Lions have had preliminary talks with Goff's camp about an extension, GM Brad Holmes said Tuesday, with the 28-year-old quarterback currently under contract through 2024.
"If you wait the two years then franchise (tag him), you’re three years down the line, and if it works out, you’re going to be paying between $50 and $60 (million) a year," says Valenti.
Even if the Lions wait one year to see if Goff matches his performance from last season when he was one of the 10 best quarterbacks in the NFL, "it's going to cost you a lot more money because other QB’s are going to slowly push the bar higher," says Valenti.
Goff's current deal comes with cap hits of about $31 million each of the next two seasons. His cap hit last season was fourth in the NFL among QB's. By 2024, it hit will rank 11th among QB's as salaries at the position continue to soar. Valenti says he's willing to pay him at the right price:
"If Goff’s representatives want him to be one of the highest-paid QB’s in football, I’ll be the first to tell you, I’m not paying him. But if they’re willing to play ball and sign a competitive, very expensive deal where he’s one of the 10 highest-paid QB’s, we can have a conversation."
To Valenti, there's no doubt that Goff is good enough to win a Super Bowl. He proved that in 2018 when he got there with the Rams, only to lose to the Patriots. If Brad Holmes and the Lions believe the same thing, maybe it's time to lock up Goff on a long-term deal.
"If you get to a Super Bowl, you have a chance to win a Super Bowl," Valenti says. "You don’t get there with someone that has no chance of winning it. If you make a Super Bowl, you can win a Super Bowl. Rex Grossman made a Super Bowl and (the Bears) easily could have won one."
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