Another ridiculous pro contract -- Daunte Culpepper (1 Viewer)

[Brian Perry]

Daunte Culpepper just signed a $102 million contract with the Vikings. (Although, like most NFL contracts, only part of it--$16 million--is guaranteed.)

I like Culpepper, but let's face it: his performance has gotten noticeably worse each year. Last year his QB rating was a solidly mediocre 75.3, and he had 23 interceptions compared to only 18 TDs. This is the type of performance that warrants a mega-fortune?

My God, what would Dan Marino, Joe Montana, or Steve Young be getting nowadays? $300 million?

 

[Max Leung]

Culpepper...is that some kind of multi-national corporation that makes pepper spices?

 

[Rob Lutter]

YAY! He's from UCF

 

[Tim Markley]

And don't forget that he was absolutely horrible for the first half of last season.

 

[Andrew_Sch]

All he's gotta do is get his turnovers down and he'll be the real deal. True, he did throw 23 INT's to only 18 TD's, but he also rushed for 10 (I think) which is terrific for anyone, let alone a QB. They really picked up momentum in the last few games of the season, mostly thanks to him.

 

[Jerry Klawiter]

Lets keep in mind that Daunte lost the all pro offensive line the second year being here.
This line was the most coherent in the nfl at the time, playing 5-6 years together.
When that was gone so was his protection.
I agree, still to much to spend, The last time they did this
was to both QB Randal C and QB Brad J. Now where did they go?

 

[Scott Merryfield]

The key item regarding this contract is that only $16 million is guaranteed. These huge NFL contracts are as much about playing with the salary cap as anything else. Yes, it's still a lot of money, but the chances of Culpepper actually getting $100 million are pretty small. This is much different than in sports that do have guaranteed contracts. Baseball players, for example, get their $100+ million whether they play or not.

 

[Josh Lowe]

Culpepper is a quality QB, it's hard to compete on a team w/ a weak running game and a receiving corps in decline. And an o-line that lacks.

Minnesota just endlessly screws itself. I still don't understand how they possibly think a team can go all the way on offense alone. That's such a delusion. Especially their "brand" of offense - lob it up and hope Moss comes down with it.

 

[Patrick_M]

I agree with Scotts comments above...basically it is a 16 million dollar contract that COULD be a hundred million dollar contract..If Dante goes out, the Vikes make the playoffs (or even, gasp, the super bowl), he makes the pro bowl and plays great football...then the Vikes will keep him, more big money will kick, but it will be worth it and no one will complain. If Dante doesn't do well, he guts cut in a few years and the Vikes are only out 16 million and perhaps one year with a cap hit. The NFL has the best contract situation in sports....the players get to brag about their huge contracts, but the owners have the last laugh ultimately because all of the money isn't guranteed. Look at Brett Favre...he signed a similar deal with the Packers, and I don't anyone is expecting him to play the full ten years of the contract. But he did get his signing bonus, the Packers got some needed cap room, and everybody wins.

 

[Andrew 'Ange Hamm' Hamm]

Look at Stephen Davis: signed a huge 10-year "lifetime contract" with the Redskins a couple years ago and now he's lucky to be playing for the freaking Panthers.

Honestly, this stuff kind of ticks me off. It's very difficult for teams to keep their good players long-term, and while parity is nice there's got to be some kind of middle ground between it and dynasties. I feel like I need a scorecard at the beginning of every season just to have an IDEA of who's on what team now. Who are the Vikings' two most recognizable players: Culpeper and Moss. What happens to the team when both of their ludicrous contracts start to escalate? They have to cut one of them.

My proposal: NFL teams should be able to slap a "loyalty tag" on 2 or 3 players on their rosters who have been with the team for 5 years or more. This tag would make their salaries count only partially toward the cap, say 75%. But if they are traded the full cap hit is transferred to their new teams. This would allow players like Emmitt Smith, Stephen Davis, Bruce Smith, etc. to remain with the teams that drafted them for, if not their whole careers, at least a few years longer.

I am getting so sick of having to "retire" jerseys for my favorite players who get traded that I'm thinking of just having a custom #33 Sammy Baugh jersey made.

 

[Jed M]

Culpepper will be a good QB at best. Michael Vick is the real deal. Remember people used to be dazzled by Kordell Stewart and said as soon as he quits throwing picks he will be an all star, just like what happened to Bret Favre. Well, thats easier said than done. I remember when he played for UCF and he was unbelievable but I think people questioned his intelligence and his ability to read complicated schemes. I will be honest, I have never been impressed with his arm accuracy, even in college. Is it me or are 90% of the balls he throws to Moss or Carter (back in the day)under thrown? It just always seems to me its a jump ball for Moss (which, on the positive side, does get him individual highlights ). That said, I think Minnesota has a lot more problems with chemistry in the locker room and with management than they do talent wise.

 

[Patrick Larkin]

Culpepper is a good quarterback who could have upside. You MUST pay in this league for a good quarterback. Is it overpaying? Possibly. But the Eagles made Donovan McNabb an even bigger contract and its comforting to know you have your QB for the next X years. He knows he's the man too.

Minnesota fans should be pleased. If there is one area to spend money, it is QB. Its not as if teams like Dallas and Washington wouldn't like his services...

I still don't understand how they possibly think a team can go all the way on offense alone.

The Rams defense sucked a couple years back when they won it. But then again, Vermeil is a genius.

 

[Andrew 'Ange Hamm' Hamm]

Washington has its QB of the future in Patrick Ramsey. Dallas, on the other hand, has three or four half-quarterbacks, which even Bill Parcells can't make into a whole one. And that makes us Redskins fans giggle with glee. That and, of course, our mighty one-game win streak against the Cowboys. :rolleyes

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Culpepper will be a good QB at best. Michael Vick is the real deal.

While he does turn the ball over too much, Culpepper is a better overall QB right now than Vick, who was not much more than a running back with an arm last season. He may develop the passing skills, but he's not there yet. He does remind me a little of John Elway in his early days, although Vick is quicker.

 

[Chuck Mayer]

Andrew,
I'll take Parcells and (pick your poison Dallas QB here) over Spurrier and Ramsey any day of the week.

And I really like Ramsey Tough kid. Good arm. Lots of balls.

But Spurrier has his head up his ***

Take care,
Chuck

 

[Tommy Ceez]

That contract will be re-negotiated 5 times in the next 10 years. Football contracts are the flashy gold plated jewlery of the sports world. Look nice, but scratch the surface and you have nothing.

 

[Mark Schermerhorn]

I'm not opposed to this contract at all. Culpepper has shown he has the skill. He simply lost his confidence, after too much of his offensive firepower left, and tried to do too much last season as a result.

QB's who can play with any skill in the NFL are not easy to obtain. What would people recommend? Dump him and take a chance on an unproven rookie? Or pick up another QB that someone else didn't want? Please. This is Minnesota's best choice right now, by far.

 

[Brian Perry]

QB's who can play with any skill in the NFL are not easy to obtain. What would people recommend? Dump him and take a chance on an unproven rookie? Or pick up another QB that someone else didn't want? Please. This is Minnesota's best choice right now, by far.

I'm not saying DC isn't Minnesota's best quarterback, or even that he has no potential. But his performance has regressed significantly--whether that is due to his surrounding players is tough to tell. I guess someone would have to dig deeper into the stats. For example, we know that yards-per-attempt is a very important and easily obtainable stat for a passer, but it's also important to know which passes came during meaningful parts of games and which came during blowouts or "garbage time" when guys can pad their numbers.

I agree that football contracts are primarily window dressing with respect to the guaranteed portion, but it just irks me to see a guy who is clearly not one of the top ten QBs in the league getting such a huge extension.

 

[Bruce Hedtke]

Minnesota has gone from a 11-5 team to a 6-10 team last year and 5-11 the year before that with Culpepper as QB. You can talk all you want about players defecting, how they lost their offensive line and that the defense is terrible but on a 6-10 team, noone should be getting a $100 million contract. Dante is a servicable quarterback who can't read defenses very well and doesn't seem to have the ability to make the tough throw. I'm pretty sure that money could have gone a long way in getting a better offensive line or defense on the field.

Bruce

 

[Patrick Larkin]

but it just irks me to see a guy who is clearly not one of the top ten QBs in the league getting such a huge extension

Just playing devil's advocate here. Are you SURE he's not a Top 10 QB? There are some pretty bad QB's out there.

10 QBs I think are better: Brady, Bledsoe, McNair, Manning, Gannon, McNabb, Favre, B. Johnson, Garcia, Warner.

Gannon is almost done, Brady is still a question mark, Johnson is debateable...

Even still, put Culpepper in the top 15 with other questionable QBs like Brooks, Brees, Couch, Harrington, Pennington, etc. Maye Minn just wants to light a flame under his ass or maybe he was threatening leaving unless he got Contract X and Minnesota's prospects (like Dallas or Wash) is pretty bleak on the QB front.