Megadeal Makes Luck the Ultimate NFL QB: Overpaid, Overprotected and Worth It

The late Buddy Ryan had what is now an infamous quote tucked away in one of his playbooks. It reflects on a different time, vastly different from now, when players like Andrew Luck rule all of American sports.

Part of what Ryan wrote read: "QBs are overpaid, overrated, pompous bastards and must be punished."

Quarterbacks are overpaid.

Quarterbacks are pompous bastards.

But no, quarterbacks can no longer be punished. They are more protected than ever before and paid much more than they were in Ryan's day.

If there is anything we have learned from the monstrous, ridiculous, massive, Godzilla-like, holy-crap, goodness-gracious contract extension Luck signed Wednesday, it is that quarterbacks are no longer to be punished.

The NFL views them as players to be celebrated. They're the stars. You dudes on the defensive line, you go ahead and get your brains beat in and your knees destroyed.

And while you're doing that, make sure you don't hit the quarterback too hard. He's precious.

This is the message delivered when Luck signed, as ESPN's Adam Schefter reported, a new six-year deal worth more than $139 million (a record) with $87 million in guaranteed money (another record).

When I texted a Pro Bowl defensive player and told him the numbers, he sent back this message: "?"

As in, what did you just text me?

I reiterated the number. He sent another message: "Nobody is worth that. God isn't worth that."

God doesn't play quarterback.

I later heard back from a second player, who when informed of Luck's contract numbers said: "What? Get the f--k out of here!"

Oh, sure, quarterbacks still get hit and get hurt. Luck was battered last season to a pulp. What's clear, however, is the rules are set up to protect them, more than any other position, and the money they are paid is meant to set them atop pedestals.

There are exceptions like LeBron James, and maybe a baseball player or two, but quarterbacks otherwise rule the American sports landscape. Football players don't make as much money as elite basketball and baseball players, and football contracts aren't guaranteed, but make no mistake: No position carries the importance and clout of the quarterback. Not the point guard. Not the pitcher. No one.

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Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin, coming off a career year, just signed a four-year extension for $46 million with "just over" $24 million guaranteed, per ESPN's Adam Caplan. That's what quarterbacks tip their valets.

We have never in football history seen anything like this. Quarterbacks have long been valuable, but now they are irreplaceable. Great ones like Luck are like the men who walked on the moon—the rarest of commodities.

If Buddy were still alive, he'd be furious. In his day, defenses were the star. Now, hit a quarterback too hard and a fine letter shows up in your locker a few days later.

Defenses are no longer stars, they're backdrops. They're B-list actors starring in Independence Day: Resurgence. Quarterbacks are Denzel in Training Day.

The networks pay billions to see Luck and Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady. Not a pass-rusher. They used to want to see Bruce Smith and Reggie White, but defenses don't energize ratings or fantasy rosters.

This isn't just the Era of the Quarterback. That phrase doesn't do justice to where we are now. This is the sports equivalent of Mark Zuckerberg inventing Facebook (or whoever did). The money in football is growing for everyone, but it's in an entirely new stratosphere for quarterbacks.

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Consider, as Schefter reported, that the previous highest guarantees were $65 million given to Eli Manning and Philip Rivers. That was not so long ago. Luck bettered those by more than $20 million.

Is Luck worth it? Hell yes, he's worth it.

Last year's struggles for Luck were an anomaly. He'll be back and dominating yet again. If you think Luck won't return to prominence, you don't know the sport.

To the Colts, his value is that he's a magnificent draw because of the name. To television, the same. To the billion-dollar fantasy industry, ditto.

He's more than worth it. With apologies to my defensive player friend...and Buddy Ryan.

Mike Freeman covers the NFL for Bleacher Report.