Justin Verlander, Buster Posey, and even Tony Romo are incredibly happy men today. All three were signed to long term contract extension for over $100 million dollars this afternoon and while all three of the players were up for contract extensions, their respective teams placed so much money and faith into the players at one time to win a championship when only two of them deserve it.
If you were to ask 100 baseball fans, I guarantee that 90% will say that Justin Verlander is the best pitcher in baseball. It is only fitting that he would sign the largest contract for a pitcher in history. Verlander signed a $180 million extension through the 2019 season with a maximum ability to receive $202 million if he uses his $22 million vesting option in 2020. A contract with a total worth of $202 million seems a little bit large for a pitcher because of the unexpected future he can have, but if there is a pitcher that can have a contract as large as this it's Verlander. The 30 year old has virtually no injury history in his career, even though he has pitched over 1553.2 innings over an 8 year career. Verlander has 1454 strikeouts, and 20 complete games to credit, as well as a Rookie of the Year award, CY Young award, an MVP, and 5 All Star game selections. He is an incredibly decorated pitcher and only seems to be getting better as he ages. Although I believe he is being slightly overpaid but if there were any pitcher in the league that deserves to be the richest, it is Verlander.
While Verlander deserves to be the highest paid pitcher in history, the largest contract for a San Francisco Giant in history deserves to be Buster Posey. He received the much deserved, 9 year, $167 million dollar extension early this afternoon. He is signed through the 2022 season and at only 26 years old, he will only get better. Posey has only two full season under his belt and still has accomplished more than the average ball player. He has two World Series rings, an All Star appearance a Rookie of the Year, and an MVP to his credit. The Giants would not have won both World Series' without Posey behind the plate. In 37 World Series at bats, Posey is hitting .286 with 2 home runs and an OPS of .781. I believe that Posey has more of an importance to the Giants ball club than Barry Bonds did a decade ago, in the way he interacts with the fans, and his leadership on and off the field.
With that being said, Dallas Cowboys quarterback, Tony Romo does not deserve his 6 year, $108 million extension. Romo is a good quarterback, but the fact that he cannot win his division, let alone get a Wild Card spot, makes him not even close to be an elite quarterback. He has a total of 91 career interceptions to 177 touchdowns, as well as a career completion rating of 64.7% and over 25,000 passing yards, but the fact that his lack of success in the regular season separates him from something he can be, an elite QB. Romo has led the Cowboys to the playoffs three times, and of the four games they have played in, he has 3 losses. Had Romo led the Cowboys to the playoffs and thrown less interceptions more often then the deal would make more sense to me. The Cowboys gave Romo a lot of money and most of their faith in him to bring a Super Bowl to Dallas, whether he or not he can do that in 6 years looks pretty shady tom, especially because of the rise of the Atlanta Falcons, and Seattle Seahawks.
Team owners and managers placing their faith and money into these players in understandable. But the question is, can these three players bring a championship(s) to their respective teams as leaders? I believe that Posey and Verlander can lead their baseball teams to a World Series victory, but Romo will not. I have to say, the timing of these extensions surprised me but the amount that each player was paid did not. Both Verlander and Posey are superstars in the baseball world, and while Romo isn't the football powerhouse that he can be, their respective teams showing their trust in them should be give them enough confidence to win it all but since Romo cannot lead his team into the playoffs, their time and money will have been a big waste.
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