It all comes down to this. The Kansas City Chiefs and Justin Houston are entering the final stretch of the contract negotiating window. If a deal isn’t done by Wednesday at 4 p.m. EST, then Houston will play the 2015 season on the franchise tag and no contract will be possible until after the season is over.
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We know, per a report from Jason Cole of Bleacher Report, that the Chiefs and Houston’s camp sat down this past weekend to try and finalize a deal. Cole reports that Houston is looking for “Watt money”. This should sound familiar to Chiefs fans as Tamba Hali once sat down with the Chiefs brass looking for “Ware money”. The outcome of those negotiations was the re-signing of someone that is now one of the most popular players in the organization. We can only hope for a similar outcome this time around.
The Chiefs are coming to the final dance with Justin Houston. It’s time to make the deal happen. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports
The “Watt money” rumor is an interesting one. JJ Watt is currently making $16.667 million per season. He signed a 6 year extension for just over $100 million. While that is certainly a lot of money, it is less than the $19 million per year deal of Ndamukong Suh. Coming off the season he had, this would seem to indicate that Houston, or more accurately…his agent, feels he should be one of the top payed defensive players, but perhaps also recognizes that the Dolphins simply handed out a ridiculous contract.
A contract similar to that of J.J. Watt’s would also fall in line with that suggested by former agent Joel Corry. Corry estimated that Justin Houston should receive a deal that works out to $16.25 million per year. Again, that is expensive, but when you consider all the factors involved, it isn’t a terrible deal. Corry also proposed this contract after he had talked in a previous piece by Terez Paylor that indicated the Suh contract could have a major effect on how much money Houston’s camp was asking for.
I have previously delved into why Justin Houston’s deal would not be a bad thing for the Chiefs. In that article, I accounted for Houston getting a contract on par with that of Ndamukong Suh. This means everything I argued in that piece is only $3 million per year better in my eyes, so you won’t get much objectivity from me on this. If the Chiefs can get Justin Houston in on “Watt money”, then they need to do so.
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If Houston doesn’t sign a long-term deal by tomorrow…then it is unlikely he will be in a Chiefs uniform after 2015. A ten week holdout becomes a much more likely option if there is no deal on the table. Some would say that hurts Houston, but it really doesn’t. Financially, Houston and his agent have had two years to prepare for this. If Joel Segal is worth his salt as an agent, then he will have already gotten things in place for this holdout. And Houston would still have the big deal on the horizon, just with another team. On the field, Houston would lessen the wear and tear on his body. Another team looking at him would certainly be able to appreciate that. And finally, it would kill the likelihood of the Chiefs using the franchise tag on him in 2016.
All in all, if the rumors about Houston’s current demands are true, John Dorsey needs to make this happen. There really is no excuse at this point. Pay the man, and play the man.