NFL math explains why Ryan Tannehill is a steal for Titans

Context is very important in the Ryan Tannehill deal.

Tennessee Titans fans have been split about what would happen with Ryan Tannehill and Tom Brady since it was speculated that the team could have gone either way at quarterback.

Fast forwarding to today and we are all pretty aware that there was never any real choice and that Tannehill was the Titans preference the entire time and that they have been trying to work out a deal that works for both sides since the season ended.

The problem is, people see contract numbers and freak out because whenever a good player signs a new deal they are usually one of the highest paid players at their positions. Teams can’t just pay a top-10 QB the average salary of the other top-10 QBs, that isn’t how it works.

Between new deals in the future, restructuring, cap raises, guarantees, and other variables around new contracts, the fact is that the only way to keep a player from testing the market is to give them a deal that makes them one of the highest paid players in the league at their position.

The difference between good and bad GMs is that bad GMs give away contracts with steady dead cap that you can’t get away from while good GMs to a great job making sure they give themselves an out by guaranteeing more money up front.

So, let’s look at why the Titans made a good deal with Tannehill.