ESPN’s Dan Graziano dropped a list on Friday titled, “Ranking NFL QB commitment in 2020: How married all 32 Teams are to their starters.”
Considering everything that Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia have said about their commitment to Matthew Stafford as their starting quarterback, I assumed the Lions and Stafford would be very high on the list.
I was wrong.
According to Graziano, when talking about how married each team is to their starting quarterback, the Lions rank No. 27 in the NFL. Though it sounds pretty crazy to have the Lions/Stafford marriage this low, in Graziano’s defense, he wrote this list from a financial perspective only.
Here is Graziano’s rationale:
Starter: Matthew Stafford | Signed through: 2022
Tier: Prove-it time | Ranking in tier: No. 3
Contract: Five-year, $135 million extension signed in August 2017, including $60.5 million fully guaranteed at signing.
The Lions are paying Stafford $15 million this year and nothing is guaranteed after that. In fact, as of the restructure Stafford did in December, $7.2 million of that $15 million is now an option bonus tied to a 2023 option on his contract, and the Lions have until the day before their first game of the 2020 regular season to decide whether to exercise it. If they don’t exercise it, that $7.2 million gets added to his 2020 salary, so he gets the $15 million either way. And the 2023 year voids no matter what, so this is just a salary-cap manipulation move.
What’s odd about it is the date on the option bonus. Since the Lions don’t have to decide on it until the day before their season starts, they could trade Stafford before then, and the acquiring team would be the one paying the option bonus and the salary.
Let me be clear: I do not believe the Lions are planning to trade Stafford. They’ve said they aren’t, publicly and privately, and I believe he will be their quarterback in 2020. But this is simply an exercise in ranking contract flexibility. And the fact the Lions have three more months to pay that bonus moves Stafford down just a bit behind others in his tier. Even if he does play the entire 2020 season for them, the Lions can get out of his deal next offseason with a $19 million dead-money charge and no more guaranteed salary owed.
Bottom line: Matthew Stafford is not going anywhere and though this list is cute, it does not take everything into account and is meaningless for the Lions and Stafford.
