Jamaal Charles Is Worth Every Penny He Gets
Kansas City Chiefs running back, Jamaal Charles, wants a new contract and honestly, who can blame him?
A source told me the #Chiefs believe Jamaal Charles will report to camp tomorrow, whether there's an extension in place or not.
— RIP Terez A. Paylor (@TerezPaylor) July 22, 2014
Multiple reports broke yesterday about Charles holding out from training camp until a deal is done and Adam Teicher, Chiefs analyst for ESPN, says that the Chiefs and Charles have already been discussing a new contract extension and that they believe he will show up for camp on time.
Charles signed a very team friendly deal back in 2010, one that is “only” giving him a base salary of $2.65 million this season with a $1 million roster bonus, and a $250,000 workout bonus. To put it into perspective, Philadelphia Eagles running back, LeSean McCoy is expected to make $8 million this year and Bears running back, Matt Forte, is expected to make $6.9 million as well.
Hell even Donald Brown will make more money than Jamaal Charles this season.
Charles is every bit as good as those guys, as he accounted for 35.3 percent of the Chiefs yards from scrimmage (most in the league) and lead the team in rushing (1,287 yards) receptions (70) and touchdowns (19) easily making him the most valuable player on the team.
His current deal expires next season in which he is expected to make $6 million so the Chiefs were having to plan an extension soon anyway. It’s just the timing of it all that’s a bit off putting.
The Chiefs are also in need of extensions for other crucial players in Justin Houston and Alex Smith. Their current deals do expire after this season and John Dorsey has been working on extensions.
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Houston held out of all off season OTA’s and workouts, though it is reported that he will show up to training camp on time. Alex Smith has been extremely professional the whole time, showing his patience and expressing his interest in staying in Kansas City.
This new news of Charles hold out helps explain the break-up with Pro Bowl cornerback, Brandon Flowers, a bit more as well. After his release, the Chiefs were left with just over $10 million in cap space this season, enough to work out extensions for Charles, Houston, and maybe Smith.
Houston and Charles should be the Chiefs top priority at this point, because if Houston hits the open market next season, one of the teams will be willing to throw him a deal that the Chiefs could not match. And Charles means everything to Andy Reids offense so I’m sure keeping him Kansas City is at the top of Dorsey’s priority list.
Alex Smith will get a deal done, though I can see them keeping the Franchise tag ready for him next season just in case things haven’t been inked yet.
The Chiefs also have center, Rodney Hudson, in a contract year and need to get him re-signed as well, otherwise they could be looking to replace a solid piece along their front five once again.
Getting back to Charles though, he is worth any and every penny that he signs for if or when this deal gets done. He’s earned a new contract and deserves to be payed like a top ten player in the NFL.
Players report to St. Joseph, Missouri today and begin practice tomorrow.