“I am a role model, Jerry! I have a family to support! Hear me? I want to stay in Arizona. I want my new contract.”
So said Cuba Gooding Jr.’s underrated and undersized wide receiver Rod Tidwell in his famous show-me-the-money scene in 1996’s Jerry Maguire as he pushed his agent for a new contract from the Arizona Cardinals. One gets the impression that IRL Seattle Seahawks wideout D.K. Metcalf is feeling much the same way right about now.
Despite having reported for every single day of voluntary OTAs, Metcalf is skipping mandatory minicamp in what’s been reported to be an unexcused absence. While we haven’t heard from coach Pete Carroll yet on the subject, it’s not difficult to imagine that this is related to Metcalf’s contract situation.
Heading into the 2022 season, Metcalf is in the final year of his rookie deal, which will pay him a pitiful base salary of $3,986,000. That number sounds like a lot for your average sports blogger, but for an elite 24-year old talent at wide receiver it makes Metcalf one of the most underpaid athletes in all of professional sports.
Yesterday, the Los Angeles Rams made Cooper Kupp the latest star receiver to get a lucrative contract extension this offseason, worth a reported $80 million over three years with $75 million guaranteed.
Here’s the complete list of NFL receivers who have gotten paid so far:
Wide receivers given big new deals this off season include:
🏈Cooper Kupp
🏈A.J. Brown
🏈Stefon Diggs
🏈Tyreek Hill
🏈Davante Adams
🏈Allen Robinson
🏈Brandin Cooks
🏈Marquez Valdes-Scantling
🏈DJ Moore
🏈Chris Godwin
🏈Mike Williams— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 8, 2022
One name you won’t find on that list is Metcalf, which is yet another eyesore for a front office that now has a fully-justified reputation for stiffing their best players – hammered home by their inexcusable treatment of Seattle’s sweetheart Bobby Wagner.
Metcalf’s next contract is likely going to be somewhere in the range between $26 and $30 million per year and every time another receiver gets a pay-day his price-tag is going to go up.
There’s no excuse for this to have dragged out as long as it has. Carroll and general manager John Schneider need to show a greater sense of urgency and pay the most important player on their team what he deserves.
