Joe Burrow must decide if he will go the route of Tom Brady to try to win championships or if he will take all the money he has rightfully earned as the face of the Cincinnati Bengals franchise.
With Jalen Hurts and Lamar Jackson getting paid, that means Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert will be the next two quarterbacks getting big money for the first time.
It will probably end up being a game of chicken between the two cheapest franchises the AFC has ever seen. The Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Chargers will always jump over a dollar to pick up a penny. It is why despite having a plethora of talent over the years, neither franchise has won a Super Bowl. Tom Brady won six playing in the same conference over the course of 20 seasons.
In Lindsey Thiry's breakdown of what it takes to build and sustain a winner around expensive quarterbacks for ESPN, we ask ourselves does it serve Burrow to take a hometown discount to give the Bengals a break or should he break the bank and take all the money the market says he is entitled to? Clearly, it is a case-by-case basis, but here is why that is so complicated for Cincinnati.
Let's take a look at what pathway Burrow should go down financially in his blossoming NFL career.
Pros of Joe Burrow taking page out of Tom Brady playbook to win championships
From a purely financial perspective, it makes sense for Burrow to take one team-friendly deal after another in Cincinnati so that he can be surrounded with the most amount of talent possible. Not every quality player the Bengals draft will be retained in this exercise, but more and more players will get to play the bulk of their primes in Cincinnati. They can also take part in free agency.
If Burrow were to take less and more importantly, take fewer guaranteed years on the contract, he can re-enter the contract negotiation fray to get even more money. Of course, this is contingent on him remaining a top-five player at his position in the league. Since his final season at LSU, that has been Burrow to a T for the most part. He is cool, confident and can conceivably bet on himself.
Burrow presumably taking less helps reinforce a standard of the team before me in Cincinnati. That ethos could prevail over the better part of the next two decades, assuming Burrow remains The Geauxt for the Bengals. Since Cincinnati is very much a mom-and-pop shop operation, loyalty goes a long way with The Brown-Blackburn Family. It could also lead to a less combative relationship.
In theory, this is probably the right way to go, but theories don't win championships; the stars do.
Cons of Joe Burrow taking page out of Tom Brady playbook to win championships
As soon as Burrow decides to take less, the Bengals will always expect him to take less going forward. This franchise is notorious for cutting corners. Not until Burrow arrived did it see the point in having an indoor practice facility … in winter … in Cincinnati, Ohio! Refusing to sell naming sponsorship rights to a stadium Paul Brown would never see cost the Bengals so many millions.
And even if Burrow takes less with good intentions in mind, the road to hell was paved with good intentions. It will reinforce a philosophy of cheapness Cincinnati fans have long hoped would be fumigated out of the Bengals facility. They will try to save money any way they can if Burrow sets the tone for the franchise saying that it is okay to devolve back into what they have always been.
For at least a little while, a marketable star like Burrow could make up that money he recouped on the back end with sponsorships and whatnot. We also have to remember he is a legend in Baton Rouge from perhaps the greatest college season ever. However, over time, he will grow to resent the Bengals franchise for expecting him to take less, while others less talented than him get more.
This is the safest way for the Bengals to win championships with Burrow, but it may not work out.
What Joe Burrow should do when it comes to signing his next contract
What I think people missed the point about Brady the most was he never pandered to people. The reason it worked for him in New England was that not only was he a team-first guy, but he demanded excellence out of everyone. Get on his level, basically. Everybody had to step up their game because that is what it took to be a part of the multi-tiered dynastic run in New England.
Unfortunately, I don't think that's going to work in Cincinnati. Mike Brown is not Robert Kraft. Katie Blackburn could prove to be better than Jonathan Kraft, but we're not quite there yet. I think Burrow taking what the market dictates will actually reinforce more good than bad in the Bengals facility. It will necessitate innovation and most importantly, place a big emphasis on drafting well.
Cincinnati has drafted well for the better part of the last half-decade. The Bengals have taken calculated swings in free agency. While they took a gamble on an unproven first-time head coach in Zac Taylor, it has worked out so far because he is a man of great humility who hires great people on his staff and puts his players in positions to succeed. Of course, it starts and ends with Burrow.
Ultimately, Burrow needs to copy what Patrick Mahomes is doing with the Kansas City Chiefs, not emulate what Brady did in Foxborough. That is the new future of building and sustaining a winning franchise with an elite, but expensive quarterback. New England did a lot of things right, but it has done more wrong than right since beating the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl 53 five years ago.
You take a page out of the Mahomes/Chiefs playbook and let the Chargers remain forever frugal.
