2020 NFL Free Agency: Winners and Losers After Week 1
Ryan Tannehill did not wait to see what the market for quarterbacks would be during the NFL’s new free agent signing period.
His impatience paid off. Literally.
Tannehill’s decision to sign a four-year, $118 million contract extension with the Tennessee Titans hours after into the legal tampering period made him a “winner” of the first week of the NFL’s new contract year in the eyes of Sports Illustrated reporter Conor Orr (see above video).
The annual average of Tannehill’s deal ($29.5 million) currently is ninth overall among all quarterbacks and tops the average that Tom Brady got from his two-year pact with Tampa Bay ($25 million), the two-year contract Drew Brees signed to remain with New Orleans ($25 million) and the one-year, $25 million agreement Philip Rivers formally signed with Indianapolis on Saturday.
“Early on, it was hard,” Tannehill said of the negotiation process. “I wanted to be back. You can’t get emotional in negotiations, that’s just kind of how things go. Each side is trying to do the best job they can and it’s a slow process.
“The (final) couple of days started getting closer and closer. You start to get excited but then at the same time it’s not done yet, so you’re trying to hold back your excitement and hold it together just because there’s still things to iron out and get straight.”
The fact that the Titans have to pay that kind of money to their starting quarterback is something new.
Marcus Mariota made $20.922 million last season from the fifth-year option on his rookie contract. Prior to that, his biggest salary cap hit for his first four seasons as a starter was $7.704 million.
Quarterbacks Jameis Winston is among the most notable free agents still in search of a contract. At this point, though, there is virtually no chance he gets anything close to a blockbuster deal.
As Tannehill showed, it was best to move early.
