Matt Ryan who did not have a stellar career in college. His stats were not that impressive.
He did not win a Heisman, he did not win an ACC championship, and did not played in a BCS bowl.
However his 2007 stats are pretty impressive and had some clutch performances in there as well, ie: great 4th quarter comeback vs. Virgina Tech.
That being said, no one was claiming he is a must have quarterback. He was merely the "best" quarterback in a weak 2008 class.
Today, May 20, 2008, Matt Ryan is being rewarded for coming out in a year with this weak quarterback class and has signed a 6 year deal worth 72 million dollars. This includes $34.75 million guaranteed just for signing the dotted line.
This is a trend that the NFL has been showing for the last 10+ years. Rookie contracts always get increased versus the previous year. Take a look at the top picks from 2007 dating back to 1998. Can you pick the 7 players of these 11 that are either out of the NFL, have not played a down, or have not lived up to their contracts?
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2007
JaMarcus Russell, QB (Raiders) – Six years, $60 million ($31 million guaranteed)
2006
Mario Williams, DE (Texans) – Six years, $62.1 million ($26.9 million guaranteed)
2005
Alex Smith, QB (49ers) – Six years, $49.5 million ($24 million guaranteed)
2004
Eli Manning, QB (Chargers, traded to NY Giants) – Six years, $54 million ($20 million guaranteed)
2003
Carson Palmer, QB (Bengals) – Seven years (voidable to 6), $49 million ($10.01 million guaranteed)
2002
David Carr, QB (Texans) – Seven years, $46.2 million ($10.92 million signing bonus)
2001
Michael Vick, QB (Falcons) – Six years, up to $62 million ($3 million signing bonus)
2000
Courtney Brown, DE (Browns) – Six years, up to $45 million ($10.9 million signing bonus)
1999
Tim Couch, QB (Browns) - Seven years, up to $48 million ($12.25 million signing bonus)
1998
Peyton Manning, QB (Colts) - Six years, up to $48 million ($11.6 million signing bonus)
1998
Ryan Leaf (2nd pick) , QB (Chargers) - Five years, up to $31.25 million ( $11.25 million signing bonus)
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There is an obvious issue with the NFL rookie contracts. These teams are paying kids based on the potential that they are going to be good. We sit and debate now if Matt Ryan is worth this money, but none of us know the answer. Is it right for the Falcons to play this guessing game with us, but have to pay out this astronomical amount of money while playing the game?
If these guys bust which about 60% (including Vick who is in jail) of these top picks have since 1998, the teams are, as they say, SOL.
I am a huge fan of the NFL and believe that for the most part, it is run perfectly. Hopefully the CBA (Collective
Matt Ryan Set Up for Failure by Atlanta Falcons and NFL
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3 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment
sherrane sherrane about 1 year ago
"He did not win a Heisman, he did not win an ACC championship, and played in 1 BCS bowl which he lost."
That is not true.
1 -- Boston College has never played in a BCS Bowl. Matt Ryan was the starting QB in two games in which Boston College had an opportunity to play in a BCS Bowl with a win, but lost both games. In those two games Matt Ryan is a combined 57 -- 103 for 505 yards with 1 TD and 5 Ints for an NFL QB rating of 51.64.
2 -- Boston College has the longest Bowl winning streak in the country. Matt Ryan is 3-0 in Bowl games.
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Paul Salman about 1 year ago
you are correct that is my mistake. I just re read this on my blog and noticed that and came to fix but you beat me to it. I am sorry for the mistake. However that does not take away from my point.
Thanks
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Nino Colla about 1 year ago
Good work.
The way the NFL does it is wrong.. It's a bad system that allows agents even more ways to get ridiculous deals like the Ryan one. They need to change it and they need to do it soon. Matt Ryan got the same contract as a rookie that most QBs get as their "best" contracts. I believe Matt Hasselbeck is making less with the same amount of years in his current deal.
That isn't fair, and it isn't right. This system has also discouraged teams from taking the best player on the board because of signability issues.
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