Jaguars Will Have a Big Decision to Make on Leonard Fournette’s Fifth-Year Option
In an offseason full of big decisions, one of the most important ones the Jacksonville Jaguars are going to have to make is on running back Leonard Fournette and his impending fifth-year option.
Fournette, the fourth overall selection in the 2017 NFL Draft, rebounded from a turbulent 2018 season and had arguably the best year of his career in 2019. After a sophomore season that saw Fournette have massive issues on and off the field, he ended up posting career-highs in rushing yards (1152), yards per carry average (4.3), receptions (76), and receiving yards (522 yards).
The only area Fournette didn't take a big step forward in was touchdowns, scoring only three on the year. He also grew into a leadership role in the Jaguars' locker room, becoming one of the vocal voices that held the team together during a rollercoaster season which was full of distractions.
Because of Fournette's success in 2019, and the Jaguars' dependency on him, the question about what to do with his fifth-year option became even more conflicting than it already was.
To start, it is important to understand what the fifth-year option is. Ever since the 2011 NFL Draft, all first-round draft picks sign four-year contracts with a team option for a fifth-year that must be exercised (or not) by sometime in early May. The fifth season is guaranteed for injury when the option is exercised. The option year becomes fully guaranteed on the first day of the league year in the fifth contract year, so sometime in March 2021 in Fournette's case.
For top 10 picks, the fifth-year option serves as a big jump in pay. The salary for the option for players picked within the first 10 picks equals the cost of the transition tender at the player's position when the option is picked up. This means the option is worth the average of the 10 highest salaries at the position.
Since Fournette was the fourth-overall pick, this would apply to him. According to OverTheCap.com, the projected cost of the transition tag for running backs in 2020 is $10,189,000 . Fournette is set to earn $8,638,907 in 2020, so the fifth-year option would give him a solid bump of about $1.5 million for 2021.
Jacksonville has only picked up two fifth-year options before: Blake Bortles in 2017 and Jalen Ramsey in 2019. Bortles was of course extended before his option became guaranteed, and Ramsey was traded.
Since the 2011 draft, there have been seven first-round running backs who have had their fifth-year options decided on. Only three (Todd Gurley, Melvin Gordon, and Ezekiel Elliot) have had their options picked up, though David Wilson retired before then and Trent Richardson was on a new team. Mark Ingram's and Doug Martin's options were declined.
In Fournette's case, Jacksonville would be bucking a recent trend if they didn't pick up Fournette's option. Of course, each situation is different and requires context. In Fournette's case, the Jaguars are tight on cap space as it is and may opt to try to extend Fournette to give him a lower cap figure in 2021 than the fifth-year option would.
What the Jaguars decide to do with Fournette's fifth-year option will tell us a lot of what they think about him and the leaps he made in 2019. Due to the position value of a running back and the Jaguars' cap situation, those leaps could always not be enough. But there is a chance the Jaguars see Fournette as too talented to let leave in 2021 and opt to pick it up.
We will know sooner than later, but it is certainly already on the minds of the Jaguars' decision-makers.
