He's the Promotional Face of the Franchise, how much is he worth?
As the billboards appearing around Jacksonville tell us, the Jacksonville Jaguars are starting the next era of the franchise with new uniforms. With the release of Fred Taylor and the abject failure of the last several rounds of first round draft pics, Maurice Jones-Drew emerges as the face of the team. He's outgoing, media friendly, and can back up his words with a dominating on the field performance. There's really not much more you can want from a player.
Now, according to Michael Wright of the Florida Times-Union, he'll be paid like the face of the francise as well. Wright reports that the Jaguars have come to terms with Jones-Drew for a deal in the 8-million per year range with around 20 million in guaranteed money.
It's always a risk to pay big money to a running back, especially in the post-Shaun Alexander era, but with Jones-Drew we're getting a guy who's willing to put the team on his back and carry us to the playoffs. He deserved to receive more than the 300k he was due this season, and now he'll get to Jacksonville and start leading this team by example. I approve of the way both Gene Smith and Maurice handled this and applaud the deal.
-Chris