A Lot Of Talk About Golden Tate And His Contract Situation Happened, But It Isn’t Time To Worry Yet.
Back in 2014, Detroit was able to sign Golden Tate to a five-year, $31 million deal after he was trapped in the facility as a snow storm was hitting the state of Michigan hard. At the time of the deal, it seemed like a good price for a wide receiver that could contribute to the team greatly.
Now in 2017, Tate thinks he is underpaid, and he has a fair argument.
Tate was getting paid well, possibly too much at the time, but he did the work and proved he was worth the money. Tate doesn’t want people to think of him wrongly, a “prima donna” as they say. He just believes he is the next guy to get paid well. He even posted this to his Instagram account, but it was later taken down.
The thing is for the Lions right now, they shouldn’t be worrying about Tate, as there are other factors that will play into if they can bring him back after the 2018 season.
First, You Need A Quarterback That Can Throw To You
Tate knows how important Matt Stafford is to this team and how much he helps them win games. The man helped drive eight fourth-quarter comebacks last season, he is our franchise quarterback. Stafford is having his own contract talks right now as he wants to stay in Detroit and keep playing for the Lions.
Tate should know that Stafford will always be more important than him, just because he is the quarterback and if you don’t have a quarterback in the NFL, good luck winning a title. Stafford’s contract situation is the first thing on Bob Quinn’s list of things to get done this off-season and we all know it. Any talk of an extension should first be with Matt Stafford and once his situation is done and he signs an extension, then talks can shift elsewhere. If Detroit spends money on Tate right now, that hurts Stafford and lowers his chances of coming back, which nobody wants.
Next, You Can’t Forgot About Other Stars
Ziggy Ansah leads the charge behind Matt Stafford in getting a contract extension. Matt Prater, Glover Quin, Tahir Whitehead are other stars on the team that contracts are up after the 2017 season, while Tate’s is up after the 2018 season.
Ziggy Ansah will be in for a payday as well, coming off his rookie contract, he will want to get paid what he is worth. Tahir Whitehead might not cost too much for the Lions, but he still will cost some cash. Matt Prater is a kicker, but one of the best in the league, so he will need some money in his pockets. Glover Quin is getting older, but he is still a solid safety on the team and around the NFL, so he will need to be rewarded.
Tate has to realize that others need to get paid, and all before his contract is even up. If this was the offseason leading up to the 2018 season, then he would have room to talk, but right now the front office has many of other players to focus on before they talk to Tate.
Can Detroit Afford Two Expensive Wide Receivers?
What Tate might not know, is that he made more money than Marvin Jones in 2016 and he will make more than him in 2018. While Jones did sign a five year deal for $40 million, nine more than Tate, as of right now Tate is making more than him.
As I listed above, Detroit has to try and re-sign many big name players after this season. While Jones is under contract until the 2021 season, could Detroit afford to pay him and Tate a good amount of money for the 2019 and 2020 seasons and possibly longer if Jones comes back? We don’t know exactly if Detroit will have that much money down the line, but if Tate could take a good deal that pays him well enough, and gives Detroit enough money to keep other stars, then the Lions are in good shape.
There Are Still Two Seasons To Play Out
I am a huge fan of Golden Tate, you can see why here and he is worth a lot to the team as you can see here. While he has helped the team greatly since joining in 2014, a lot of things could change by 2018. If Tate falls off these next two years, does he deserve to be a well paid wide receiver? No.
If Tate continues to do well and contribute to the team’s success over the next two years, then he deserves some type of reward. Fans talked about how the deal was a steal for the Lions after seeing Tate play in 2014 and 2015, now it is the time we pay the man that we stole from Seattle. I don’t believe he deserves a huge contract extension as he will be 31 by the time his contract is complete and he will start the 2019 season at that age. Will he still be able to do the same moves he can do now, then?
It is possible, but signing him to a long-term money filled contract wouldn’t be the best idea. Luckily for us Bob Quinn is our GM, and we know he will do what is best in the end.
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