It’s like the Jacksonville Jaguars had an open wallet to start 2022 NFL free agency.
The team doled out close to $230 million worth of contracts to six players on the first day of legal negotiations with free agents.
The biggest catch they had was wide receiver Christian Kirk whom they gave a four-year, $72 million deal.
Jacksonville also got All-Pro guard Brandon Scherff for a three-year, $49.5 million contract.
Also included in their massive haul are linebacker Foye Oluokun, defensive tackle Folorunso Fatukasi, wide receiver Zay Jones, and tight end Evan Engram.
The deals that the Jaguars made before the 2022 league year officially starts will have significant effects on how contract negotiations will unfold, as CBS Sports senior NFL reporter Jonathan Jones pointed out.
Trent Baalke and the Jags have thrown the free-agency market out of whack. Agents, rightly, want to negotiate deals for their players based off Jax's valuations. The other teams are saying "not so fast."
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) March 15, 2022
Jones tweeted, “Trent Baalke and the Jags have thrown the free-agency market out of whack. Agents, rightly, want to negotiate deals for players based off Jax’s valuations. The other teams are saying “not so fast.”
As always, agents write up contract proposals based on what the market dictates.
They base their projections on the player that has a comparable production with their client.
However, Jacksonville’s generosity brought the prices to the roof.
How The Jaguars Will Affect The Market
Scherff’s new contract gives him an average annual value of $16.5 million, making him the highest-paid free-agent offensive guard for 2022, so far.
While there are no other free agent guards who can command such a contract, it will shape up the value for an All-Pro offensive lineman for years to come.
Likewise, the Jaguars gave Kirk an annual average of $18 million.
If that’s how they value a player with 982 yards and five touchdowns last season, imagine the contract proposal that Davante Adams‘ agent will submit to the Green Bay Packers.
The floor for Adams must be at $20 million per year, right around the value of his franchise tag.
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