It’s the championships that matter for a quarterback

By STEVE KING

If you visit this website frequently — I certainly hope you do, and if that’s the case, thank you so much for that — then you know how much I value the SI.com NFL coverage.

It is absolutely superb.

But there was a story there recently that left me scratching my head. It was about Tom Brady, stating that while he was the GOAT as a quarterback, he was hardly that off the field with his financial earnings. While he made $300 million in his two-decade-long career, he left a lot of money on the table, not getting as much as he could have.

For the bulk of his career, Tom Brady chose to play on a contract well below his market value.@AndrewBrandt on the discount Brady played on for the bulk of his career, a mystery that might never be solved: https://t.co/34PFSQA4RF

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) February 23, 2022

Look, $300 million is a lot of money. Even a guy like Brady can live on that — comfortably. His big, unbelievably well-furnished home is evidence of that. What Brady wanted even more than the money — really, how much is enough, and how much is too much? — was the success and championships, and he got a bunch of them.

Why the person writing the story couldn’t get that simple principle, is beyond me.

For you see, it’s the quarterback’s job to win the game, not necessarily to throw for 350 yards and four touchdowns. Winning games and titles bring a player all the money he needs, and a lot of fame, which can be translated into money as well.

Otto Graham on those early Browns teams also won a lot of fames and championships — seven, to be exact, in just 10 seasons — and that fame, along with the financial rewards that went with it, stayed with him for his whole life.

Kirk Cousins, on the other hand, was paid a king’s ransom in Minnesota and he didn’t come close to winning anything. The only thing his presence has done is get Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer fired.

And there’s talk the Browns may be interested in Cousin should he become available.

Yeah, right, that would be a great move.

More Browns:

• “Cleveland Browns announce increase in season-ticket prices for fifth time since 2008” (ABJ)
• BDD Weekly 2-24-22
• “Baker Mayfield pictured without a sling or harness on his recovering shoulder” (BrownsDigest)
• “Browns Jarvis Landry may be trying to avoid Sheldon Richardson’s outcome” (BrownsWire)
• “Reviewing the WRs: Young core looking to take next step in 2022” (Browns.com)
•  Of Bill Willis, Mike Brown and the Browns winning award
• “Could the Cleveland Browns draft a quarterback with the No. 13 pick?” (WKYC)
• “How much pressure does Baker face if Landry is released?” (ESPN)