Even when the Los Angeles Chargers have one of the best quarterbacks in the league at their disposal in Justin Herbert, penny-pinching ownership will not try to stop saving every last cent they can. Ownership may not have been negotiating with Herbert in completely good faith.
Chargers owner Dean Spanos sent a congratulatory text to Arizona Cardinals owner Michael Bidwell after the team signed quarterback Kyler Murray to a long-term extension. Murray's five-year. $230 million contract included just under $160 million in guaranteed money, which gave the Chargers some extra leeway to take some money out of Herbert's pocket.
In recently unearthed messages from a 61-page collusion grievance ruling, Spanos said that not giving Murray a fully guaranteed contract "helps us" in negotiations with Herbert. While Herbert eventually got $218 million of his $262 million contract guaranteed when he did sign, it appears that one party was using his friend's Murray contract as justification not to fork over the cash.
It's hard to get more of a smoking gun than this. Two geographically close teams celebrating the fact that one party's contract is going to help another reduce the value of their best player is about as naked as it gets, and it shows how often ownership is looking to save a few extra bucks everywhere.
Chargers' Dean Spanos may have colluded with Cardinals in Justin Herbert negotiations
Those who are sycophants for billionaire owners who wouldn't pour water on fans if they were on fire will try to use the Cleveland Browns' disastrous Deshaun Watson contract as a reason not to make all contracts fully guaranteed. That is a bad management decision, not a reason to keep labor's price down.
The NBA and MLB have fully guaranteed contracts for star players, meaning that the NFL is going against the grain when compared to the other leagues out there.
The one silver lining in this whole situation is that Herbert has been as good as advertised since being paid. The playoff success has yet to come, but he is putting up some of the best numbers in the league despite a vanilla passing game without some of the best receivers.
The Chargers may have their quarterback locked up long-term, but these texts may have pulled back the curtain and shown the read of the league what The Wizard looks like. Young quarterbacks in need of new deals may not be confident that their team is trying their best to give them an equitable deal.