Ranking the NFL's Top Value Contracts

To be considered the best, you have to be paid like it. For most players, the big pay day comes with either the potential they bring to their team, or based on their most recent performance.

I looked at the top players last season in passing, running, receiving and defense and normalized their performance by their salary cap number in 2012.

What follows are the players that produced the best results against the money they were paid. While it was easy to compare players from the same position, it got a little tougher when ranking players of different positions—meaning there is plenty of subjectivity in the following ranking. 

Here are the top 15 value contracts in 2012 based on their 2011 contributions. Of course, the standard disclaimer applies—past performance does not guarantee future gains.

No. 15: (K) Jon Kasay, New Orleans

John Kasey was second in the NFL in scoring last season with 147 points—a career high.

It was the 20th season for the 42-year-old kicker, and his first in New Orleans after playing 15 years for Carolina. 

For the upcoming season, the Saints will only take a $540,000 hit to the salary cap for Kasay's contract.

If he were to score 147 points again this season, it would cost the Saints $3,673 per point.

Of course it doesn't hurt playing on the NFL's second-ranked scoring offense. Of Kasay's 147 points, 63 of them (42.8 percent) came on PATs, where he was perfect.

By comparison, if points leader David Akers (166) scored the same total this year, he would cost the San Francisco 49ers $21,486 per point—almost six times higher than Kasay.

No. 14: (LB) Pat Angerer, Indianapolis

Second-year linebacker, Pat Angerer finished fourth in the NFL in tackles with 148. The Colts' second-round draft pick from 2010 started all 16 games last season.  

In 2012 his cap figure will be $1.13 million—that's $7,652 per tackle.

Compare that to London Fletcher who led the NFL with 166 tackles. His cap hit to the Redskins will be $3.5 million, good for $21,084 per tackle.

No. 13: (QB) Matt Moore, Miami

Players looking at long odds to make an NFL roster can look to Matt Moore for inspiration.

Moore signed with the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted rookie in 2007. The Cowboys were planning to move him to their practice squad when the Panthers claimed him off waivers. He started three games for Carolina, finishing with a 2-1 record.

After three seasons and a 7-6 record he signed with Miami for the 2011 season to backup quarterback Chad Henne.

A shoulder injury knocked Henne out for the season in Week 4, moving Moore into the starting role. He finished the season 6-6, with 16 touchdowns, nine interceptions and an 87.1 passer rating.

Only costing the Dolphins $2.5 million against their salary cap, that's $416,667 per win.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, the Chargers' 8 wins cost them $1.9 million each. Philip Rivers will make $10.2 million in base salary in 2012, with a $15.3 hit to the salary cap.

No. 12: (LB) Antwan Barnes, San Diego

Speaking of the San Diego Chargers, on the value side of the balance sheet they have Antwan Barnes who led the Chargers with 11 sacks last season.

While that was only good enough to finish 11th in the NFL, his cap hit in 2012 of $1.9 million means the Chargers paid $172,727 per sack.

It was a career high for the fifth-year veteran linebacker out of Florida International.

No. 11: (RB) Chris Wells, Arizona

Chris "Beanie" Wells led the Arizona Cardinals with 1,047 yards rushing and his 10 touchdowns tied him for eighth in the league.

With a 2012 cap hit of $2.97 million, that's $2,834 per yard and $296,750 per touchdown.

That may not sound like much of a bargain until you compare it to the cost of Larry Fitzgerald's eight touchdowns against a $13.25 cap hit—$1.66 million per touchdown.

No. 10: (QB) Tom Brady, New England

I know. How can a "superstar" like Tom Brady be considered a value.

Incredibly, his base salary in 2012 is only $950,000. For the Patriots' starting quarterback, that is second to Brian Hoyer on New England's roster. Hoyer's salary is $1.93 million.

Brady's hit to the Patriots' cap will be a total of $7.78 million. Considering he led the Patriots to a 13-3 record last season, that comes to $598,077 per win—the third lowest among the top 20 quarterbacks in the NFL.

No. 9: (TE) Rob Gronkowski, New England

If there's one thing the Patriots do well, it's getting the most for their money.

Second-year tight end Rob Gronkowski led the NFL with 17 touchdown catches. His 1,327 receiving yards were second for New England behind Wes Welker and good enough for sixth in the NFL.

This season Gronkowski will cost the Patriots $2.61 million against their salary cap—$153,529 per touchdown, and $1,967 per yard.

Not too bad considering the 1,106 yards for Vincent Jackson cost the Chargers $11,754.

No. 8: (TE) Jimmy Graham, New Orleans

Last season, second-year tight end Jimmy Graham finished seventh in the league with 1,310 yards and tied for fourth with 11 touchdowns.

He will cost the Saints $2.61 million against their salary cap in 2012—that's $539 per yard and $64,182 per touchdown.

Of course, it doesn't hurt that he's playing on the NFL's top offense led by quarterback Drew Brees.

No. 7: (LB) NaVorro Bowman, San Francisco

NaVorro Bowman led the 49ers' top-ranked rushing defense in the NFL in tackles, finishing seventh in the league with 143.

The second-year player from Penn State will count only $665,562 against San Francisco's salary cap in 2012. That's only $4,654 per tackle.

After starting only one game as rookie, Bowman started all 16 last season for the 13-3 49ers.

No. 6: (DE) Connor Barwin, Houston

Last season Connor Barwin led the second-ranked Texan defense with 11.5 sacks. A second-round draft pick from the University of Cincinnati in 2009, he missed all but one game in 2010 after suffering an ankle injury.

Barwin started all 16 games as the Houston Texans made the playoffs for the first time in their 10-year history.

The Texans' salary cap hit for Barwin is $917,500 for the 2012 season. That computes to $79,783 per sack.

A real bargain when you consider that Jared Allen, the sack leader in 2011 with 22, will cost the Vikings $15.2 million against the cap—that's $691,000 per sack.

It's even a better deal when you look at the hit Indianapolis is taking on Dwight Freeney. His cap number is $19.03 million. His 8.5 sacks last season cost the Colts $2.2 million each. 

No. 5: (RB) Ray Rice, Baltimore

Ray Rice led the NFL in yards from scrimmage last season with 2,068 yards. He finished sixth with 1,364 rushing yards and was second among running backs with 704 receiving yards.

He also tied for third with 12 rushing touchdowns and had three touchdown catches for a total of 15. 

His salary cap number in 2012 is $5 million. That computes to $2,418 per yard or $333,000 per touchdown.

No. 4: (RB) LeSean McCoy, Philadephia.

Last season LeSean McCoy finished fourth in the league with 1,309 yards rushing and first in the league with 17 touchdowns.

For this season his base salary will be only $615,000 with a total cap hit of $2.315 million. That doesn't even crack the top 10 for running backs in the NFL.

Adrian Peterson, who is coming off ACL/MCL surgery on his left knee, (currently on the Vikings' PUP list) will cost Minnesota $11.15 million against their salary cap.

Chris Johnson is second on the list, and will cost the Titans $10 million this season. Combined, these two only accounted for 16 touchdowns last season.

McCoy's touchdowns cost the Eagles a mere $136,176 each.

Not bad when you compare that to $2.5 million and $929,167 per touchdown for Johnson's Peterson's touchdowns, respectively.

No. 3: (WR) Victor Cruz, New York Giants

Wide receiver Victor Cruz will cost the Giants only $490,000 against their salary cap in 2012.

He finished third in the league with 1,536 yards and tied for sixth with nine touchdown receptions. 

That computes into a very attractive $319 per yard and $54,444 per touchdown—the lowest cost for any of the top 20 players in receiving yards.

No. 2: (RB) Shonn Greene, New York Jets

In his first full year as the starting running back for the Jets, Shonn Greene gave New York a lot of bang for the buck.

The third-year player out of Iowa finished with 1,054 yards and six touchdowns. With a salary cap hit of $849,370, that computes to $806 per yard—the lowest among top running backs, and $141,500 per touchdown.

No. 1: (QB) Andy Dalton, Cincinnati

The best value contract based on 2011 results goes to rookie quarterback Andy Dalton of Cincinnati.

Selected in the second round, Dalton was the fifth quarterback taken in the draft, but finished with a better record than the four quarterbacks drafted ahead him. 

He led the Bengals into the playoffs with a 9-7 mark, starting all 16 games and finishing with 20 touchdowns, 13 interceptions and a passer rating of 80.4.

His cap number for 2012 is only $1.18 million, resulting in a cost of $131,667 per win—the lowest for the top 20 quarterbacks for passer rating.

Salary information taken from Spotrac.com.