Kansas City Chiefs Should Do Right By Jamaal Charles
By Ben Almquist
What Could The Chiefs Offer?
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Now, as much as I (and just about every Kansas City Chiefs fan out there) loves Jamaal Charles, the team cannot pay him $7 million in 2017. However, that does not mean you have to give him an ultimatum contract. There are plenty of options the Chiefs can look at in order to make sure both sides are taken care of.
My proposal for a Jamaal Charles deal is simple…a two-year extension that spreads his $7 million cap hit out over three seasons instead of one. That gives the Chiefs salary cap relief while also allowing Charles to easily stay in Kansas City and potentially retire as a Chief.
Here is the structure I would propose:
$4 million signing bonus with a $1.5 million salary in 2017 ($2.8 million cap hit), $2 million in 2018 ($3.3 million cap hit), and $2.5 million in 2019 ($3.8 million cap hit). That’s $10 million over three years, and none of those years would be a heavy financial burden. At the same time, Jamaal Charles goes from making $7 million in 2017 to $5.5 million with his salary and signing bonus.
See? There is no reason the Chiefs can’t do right by Jamaal Charles this offseason. In the era of Free Agency, it is rare for a player to spend his whole career with one team. Jamaal Charles has earned that, just like Tamba Hali did. If the Chiefs can show loyalty to guys like Hali and many others, there is no reason they can’t do it for Jamaal Charles.
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To often in sports, we expect players to remain loyal to a franchise but as fans do not return that loyalty. When a player is perceived to be “washed up”, “too old”, or an “injury risk”, many fans are quick to turn away. However, these kinds of moves can have lasting effects. If you treat every player like a business transaction, you should never expect loyalty from them in return.
Jamaal Charles has shown loyalty to Chiefs Kingdom. We should show it in return.