Tag Deadline Passed with Orlando Brown, Jr.
Where do the team and the player go from here?
I was always of the opinion that the Chiefs and Orlando Brown, Jr. would come to an agreement before the franchise tag deadline this past Friday. I was wrong. The question that remains is how the team will move forward and what the player will do as the Chiefs head to camp this coming Friday.
The Reality of the Potential Contract
I specifically put this tweet in here for the information it contains. If this is truly what Brown was asking for then it does not shock me that a deal did not get done. This would be 2 million more than Trent Williams got paid last offseason and it would have been too much.
If you follow the Locked on Chiefs podcast you’ve heard me talking about this situation for quite some time. I’ve even argued that the Chiefs could easily give Brown an APY of over $23 million which was Williams’ deal. Quite simply they could very easily get over that APY and in comparison, they could get over $25 million APY as well.
It all comes down to how the contract is written and how long it is for. In today’s NFL just about all big contracts are usually 2 years and we will see type of agreement. In the biggest deals maybe it becomes 3 years instead of 2. But the reality is the team can give a player $30 million a year APY much like Tyreek Hill got and it isn’t going to end up being a deal where he will really make that.
Essentially all you have to do is have a year at the end of the contract that doesn’t have any guaranteed money in it. At that point, you can give the player a $45 million salary in the final year knowing you will never pay him that money. That’s how the Chiefs could have gotten to $25 million APY easily with Brown but he isn’t worth that money with the way he played last season.
From the Chiefs’ Perspective
Brown played well last season, especially after a rough start to the season which was to be expected. At 26 he’s young enough to be the LT of the team for the next 7 or 8 seasons. It would make a lot of sense to pay an ascending player near the top of the market if you think he’s going to get better.
The problem is he’s asking to top the market not be near the top of the market. From reports I’ve seen the Chiefs were offering around $19 million a season which creates a $6 million dollar gap per year. Yes, it could be overcome but it also sounds like Brown was wanting close to $71 million guaranteed over the first 3 years which would put him just short of $24 million a year guaranteed.
Brown in my mind right now could be looked at as a top 15 LT in the NFL. With the lost weight in the offseason maybe the team thinks he could crack the top 10 or a little higher if he’s able to iron out issues. The biggest problem is he doesn’t appear to have learned from his mistakes from the NFL combine.
Had Brown learned from his mistakes at the combine he would have had an agent within weeks of the Chiefs season ending and he would have attended Duke Manyweather’s offensive line camp. This would show his commitment to getting better and he could have joined his teammates in training.
Orlando Brown, Jr’s Perspective
The only bargaining chip he really had was to threaten to sit out training camp and the season. He has done that and at this point you have to wonder if he will report for camp on time or at all. He wants to be paid and he wants to be paid well which is the case for anyone.
To this point, Brown has only made about $6 million in total in the NFL. While that’s a lot of money it is very little in the NFL. If Brown has good spending habits he could afford to sit out and not get paid. If he is like a bunch of NFL players the money can be gone just about as quickly as it comes in.
He now has a decision to make. Does he show growth and accept the situation for what it is and report for camp on time? Or does he stay away from the team and possibly forgo close to $1 million dollars a game in 2022 by sitting out?
Where they both go from here
The Chiefs don’t really have a lot of options. They have to hope the player reports and plays well in 2022 and they can try to extend him after the season. They need to plan for a holdout and they have the nuclear option of rescinding the tag if they truly wanted but I don’t think that they would ever really consider that.
The player’s options are simple. Hold out and hope you can get a better offer next year which is highly unlikely. Or second, report and play to the best of your ability and hope you are rewarded next season. Showing growth, maturity and an improved skill set is the only way he can get a better offer.
The other issue he would face is he is easily out any game check he would make if he reported. He can’t make that money back. And worse yet for him if he holds out and then plays he likely plays worse because he’s been sitting out for so long.
For the sake of Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs and Orlando Brown, Jr. both the team and the player should be hoping he shows up at camp on the 26th ready to work. Brown being in camp and working with his teammates will get him ready for the season opener and should put him in line for a big pay day in 2023.