Melvin Gordon and his long-awaited contract situation have been resolved. However, it’s not in the way he had planned or hoped for. He signed a two-year, $16 million contract with $13.5 million guaranteed with the Denver Broncos.
Gordon sat out four games in 2019 for a new contract worth about $13 million dollars a year. The Los Angeles Chargers offered him $10 million dollars per season. This was considered to be disrespectful by Gordon and his agent. Spotrac.com has Gordon’s market value listed as four years, $33,279,868. Holding out for a contract is risky in the NFL, especially if you play a devalued position like running back. It was reported that Gordon had a better offer from another team. He wanted to sign with the Broncos so he could play against his old team twice a year. Let’s take a look at Melvin Gordon’s new deal.
Melvin Gordon’s New Deal With A Rival
Missed Opportunites For More Money
Gordon’s new deal with Denver will pay him $8 million per year. After turning down a richer deal from Los Angeles, it makes the holdout lookout even more senseless. Not only did the Chargers offer him more financially but they offered him more in the contract length. Essentially, he held out for money and received $13.5 million for two seasons after he was seeking $13 million per year. Nevertheless, Gordon cost himself a nice chunk of change.
Injury and Age Concerns
Gordon turns 27 years old next month and he’s played just one full 16-game season in his five-year career. He’s missed at least two games or more in every season except one. For a running back who will be 28 at the end of his contract and looking to cash in just one more time, things could get dicey. Gordon has the opportunity to flourish with the Broncos in their outside zone run scheme. If he puts together two good seasons in Denver, is that enough for another team to pay him a significant third contract? The answer is no.
Justification For Why Gordon Might Not Receive That Third Contract
Lastly, looking back at Gordon’s contract fiasco there’s reason to believe that he may not get the third contract that will pay him top dollar at his position. Running backs are expendable. Just look at his old teammate Austin Ekeler and his new teammate Phillip Lindsay. Both players came into the league undrafted and have shined in their roles for their respective organizations. Ekeler’s play while Gordon held out was one of the key reasons Los Angeles felt comfortable about letting Gordon walk in free agency. Lindsay is the best running back on the Denver Broncos roster and all he’s done is run for 1,000 yards in back to back seasons and be selected to the Pro Bowl in 2018.
Final Analysis
If teams have been successful with bringing in cheap running backs and getting a great deal of production out of them, why would teams bring in a veteran like Gordon with injury concerns who are approaching 30 years old and pay him a large third contract? It doesn’t make much sense from a financial standpoint. It was clearly noted that the market for him wasn’t as hot as he expected and the money that was offered to him from his former team wasn’t being offered from anyone in this free agency period. Gordon is a talented do-it-all running back, but don’t expect him to cash in on a deal two years from now.
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