Larry Fitzgerald's Contract Lays Foundation for Titans to Sign Chris Johnson

There has been a spate of huge contracts handed out to various NFL players over the past few days.

Larry Fitzgerald led the way with a record-breaking deal in Arizona before two young AFC North studs—Joe Thomas and Lawrence Timmons—cashed in on impressive starts to their respective careers.

For one man, this trend is demoralizing and only serves to add to his ever-growing frustration about being under-appreciated. That man is Chris Johnson.

Previously I wrote that Johnson's holdout wasn't likely to end anytime soon. While I still don't believe that a conclusion is in sight to this standoff, the Arizona Cardinals have definitely laid out a blueprint and put the onus on the Titans to offer Johnson a mega deal.

Fitzgerald's deal makes him the highest paid receiver in the league. An eight year $120 million deal is an outrageous sum of money to pay for a skill position player...or is it?

Ever since the NFL lockout, many of us are overlooking the fact that the NFL is now working under a new salary cap. However, more importantly the league is also working under new salary cap rules.

From next season onwards, each franchise will have to spend at least 90 percent of the total salary cap figure. This is a big reason why teams have been so willing to significantly reward the established players on their own teams.

Paying big money to proven All-Pro players like Larry Fitzgerald or Joe Thomas carries less risk than paying similar figures to a player that you are less familiar with.

The rookie wage scale and the 90 percent rule are the two most significant new rulings of the CBA as far as the salary cap goes. Instead of splashing big money on free agent signings who won't fit into the team or unproven rookies, teams are better served to hold onto their own stars.

There are plenty of reasons not to pay Chris Johnson, but the truth is where else is the team going to spend the money that they are forced to?

Johnson is similar to Larry Fitzgerald in that he is a top-two player at his position and the drop off after him is significant. As a receiver, FItzgerald's career is likely to last longer than Johnson's, but Johnson is able to have a greater impact on football games since he has a better quarterback.

If the Cardinals can afford to give Larry Fitzgerald $120 million and Kevin Kolb over $60 million in the new post CBA landscape, why can't the Titans find a way to get Chris Johnson in camp?

Johnson isn't worth $17 million a year—the average of Fitzgerald's contract—but maybe in these circumstances, paying Johnson could be what is best for the franchise.