San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick should take a pay cut to play for the Denver Broncos in 2016 and beyond…
Because a trade involving Colin Kaepernick and the Denver Broncos has not yet been consummated, it seems like many national media have taken to Twitter to mock the Broncos’ attempts at getting Kap at a discounted rate for 2016.
This is funny to me.
The first question that was supposed to be rhetorical but always makes me laugh is the question of whether I would take — in this instance, 41% reduction — a pay cut to work for a better organization.
I don’t know what it’s like to have multiple millions of dollars guaranteed to me before I do any work, but I can for sure tell you this — I would definitely take a pay cut to still make millions of dollars (guaranteed) for an organization that was the best in the world against an organization that jettisoned the guy who hired me and believed in me.
I would definitely take a pay cut to leave an organization that currently had probably the worst roster in the business, and had a coach that was just fired because of his insane ego.
The other jab that people are taking at the Broncos’ approach to all of this in trying to get Kaepernick to take less money is that they offered Brock Osweiler more than twice as much. Things have changed since then. The Broncos wanted to bring back Osweiler, obviously, having offered him in excess of $16 million annually for his services.
Gross. Glad that didn’t happen.
Since that time, they have had to pay other guys to keep this team in operation. Had they re-signed Osweiler, they likely would have let C.J. Anderson sign with another team. They likely wouldn’t have kept other players and would have used the draft to fill other holes that they have since filled with free agent acquisitions.
You can’t blame the Broncos for trying to fit the best player they can under the salary cap at their position of greatest need. John Elway is interested in building a dynasty, he’s not interested in the hierarchy of NFL player egos, which says that the position you play or the money you’ve earned is what you’ve been handed out.
Sometimes NFL teams make mistakes, and while Kap’s number for 2016 isn’t bad in relative terms to other QBs in the league, it doesn’t work for the Broncos but they still want him. So why not ask him to take a pay cut to come and play for the world champs?
Why do people assume the Broncos have no leverage here?
Kaepernick is the one who wanted out of San Francisco, and if you’ll look around, the Broncos are the only ones in the room. The one catch for Kap is that he has to take a pay cut. Would he rather sit on the bench and collect an additional $4.9 million this year, or would he rather play and help the Super Bowl champs defend their title?
The 49ers are the ones who gave him permission to seek a trade. You know what they could have said?
“No.”
They could have told Kaepernick he’s not going anywhere, and to suck it up and work with Chip Kelly. But instead, they gave him permission to meet with John Elway, which he’s now done multiple times.
That alone speaks to the interest Kaepernick has in leaving San Francisco.
I don’t understand why this is so hard to understand, though I’ve never put my body on the line for an NFL season. I don’t know what it’s like to be paid multiple millions of dollars. I guess maybe I just don’t understand, but to me it seems as simple as this…
…Kaepernick needs a career revival. Denver is offering it to him. He just has to be paid less millions than the millions he will make anyway. Kaepernick doesn’t want to play for the 49ers. The Broncos are the only ones offering him that opportunity. Sacrifices have to be made. The 49ers aren’t keeping Kaepernick tied to the organization, granting him permission to seek a trade. The Broncos are calling.
It seems like the only reasonable way this ends is with Kaepernick on the Broncos, and ultimately, I think that will be the best case scenario for all parties.