Ron Parker's $25 Million Deal Proves NFL's Safety Market Is Out of Control

Kansas City Chiefs safety Ron Parker has a curious, late-blooming story that's now led to great riches. He's the ball-swatting embodiment of the American dream.

Parker will turn 28 before the 2015 NFL season. If that's all you knew about him, the assumption would be that he's an established veteran who's earned a juicy payday as a free agent.

Then, once you saw exactly what the Chiefs gave Parker—a reported max of $30 million to re-sign over five years with a $25 million base salary, according to Yahoo's Rand Getlin—that assumption would be confirmed, right?

Parker has compiled impressive game film. Now, as he enters his athletic prime, the versatile defensive back who went undrafted in 2011 has finished his journey as the ultimate underdog.

But that's not exactly how this narrative goes. Part of it is true, with Parker blossoming late after finally getting an opportunity, and he was a core piece of the second-ranked Chiefs secondary in 2014 (203.2 passing yards allowed per game).

But experience? Sample size? Parker doesn't have much of either after starting only 16 NFL games. Yet his pockets are still overflowing due to a lack of supply—and high demand.

Tolerate my quickly going back to high school economics, as it relates to the safety market this offseason.

It was a top-heavy year at the position, especially after the New England Patriots re-signed Devin McCourty. Once he was spoken for early, desperation increased among teams that needed a true ball-hawking free safety.

Yet defensive backs who fit that description began to dwindle in numbers—especially once the Houston Texans signed Rahim Moore and the Chicago Bears snapped up Antrel Rolle.

Quickly, a still-young and suddenly impressive Parker became even more appealing. Earlier in free agency, he attracted interest from the Bears and Atlanta Falcons, according to the Chicago Tribune's Brad Biggs. He visited with the Bears, and Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News reported interest from the New York Giants, too.

That chase is why the Chiefs had no choice but to dive into a ballooning safety market to keep Parker.

The concept is fundamental: Price increases with interest and pursuit. But the end game looks like this—with Parker making $5 million annually, which could rise to roughly $6 million if he meets certain incentives, according to Terez Paylor of The Kansas City Star.

Safety	Average annual salary
Kam Chancellor	$7 million
Donte Whitner	$7 million
Michael Griffin	$7 million
Aaron Williams	$6.5 million
Morgan Burnett	$6.2 million
Ron Parker	$5 million

Parker had a breakout season in 2014 with a career-high 12 passes defensed. His 11.2 yards allowed per reception in coverage ranked 24th among all safeties who played at least 50 percent of their teams' snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. And his 86.7 passer rating allowed ranked 31st, again per PFF.

Those rankings may not pop out immediately. But when the guy attached to them plays a position of scarcity and is available in a dry market, suddenly said player will find himself making only $2 million less per year than Seattle's Kam Chancellor.

The idea that Parker is even remotely close to Chancellor feels absurd. His financial cash-out came after two factors aligned perfectly: his surging season in a contract year and a market where lusting for safety help became a necessity.

The contract structure shows the Chiefs smartly managed their risk with a quality safety, though one not far removed from his days as an NFL nomad. Kansas City is already Parker's fourth NFL home after two stints with the Seattle Seahawks and stops with the Oakland Raiders and Carolina Panthers. This is why he was given only $8 million in guaranteed money, according to Paylor.

That's critical, with the lack of guaranteed money acting as a safeguard against Parker returning to his journeyman status. Still, any structure that puts the inexperienced Parker's base salary in the same general pay vicinity as Chancellor and the Browns' Donte Whitner shows just how much the clawing for safety help can drive up prices.

This is especially true when the safety in question may be effective in coverage and also capable of playing some cornerback but is entirely one-dimensional.

The Chiefs gave Parker a fat base salary out of obligation, but they also took a strategic gamble that could begin to pay them back soon. From their perspective, Parker's lack of experience is something to embrace.

The cost to sign or retain top-tier safeties is going to grow as the salary cap continues to rise, and Parker has only now emerged after becoming a starter for the first time in his career. So the Chiefs are looking toward what he'll become, hoping Parker's base salary will quickly be a bargain as the cost for safeties keeps increasing.

And if getting that eventual bargain requires giving Parker the largest payout for an undrafted free agent safety in NFL history, per CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora, then so be it.

Sean Tomlinson is an NFL Analyst for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter.