Acpevans' BLE 4 Blog: SPORTS CHART OF THE DAY: Titans Would Be Crazy To Give Chris Johnson A Huge Contract

2011年8月24日水曜日

SPORTS CHART OF THE DAY: Titans Would Be Crazy To Give Chris Johnson A Huge Contract

Chris Johnson continues his holdout with the Tennessee Titans. And the two sides may be as far apart as ever.

Johnson wants to be among the highest-paid players in the NFL. Peyton Manning recently signed a new deal with the Indianapolis Colts that will pay him $23 million this season. The Titans have agreed to make Johnson the highest-paid running back. Adrian Peterson currently holds that distinction, as the Minnesota Vikings will pay him $10.7 million this season. Complicating matters, is the eight-year, $120 million contract signed this weekend by Larry Fitzgerald of the Arizona Cardinals that will pay him $15 million per season.

But should a team ever give a top running back top dollar? Only if they like gambling.

Johnson has 4,598 yards in his first three seasons. Below is a look at the eight players since 1990 that had at least 4,000 yards in their first three seasons. What we see is that the decline in their careers started shortly after their quick starts.

Of the other seven running backs, they combined for five seasons with at least 1,500 yards in the six seasons after their first three years. And while those running backs averaged 1,422 yards in their fourth season, that average fell to 1,016 in year five. And by year eight, this group averaged less than 1,000 yards per season.

Young Running Backs in The NFL Go Bust