Michael Silver and Mike Garafolo both appeared on the NFL Network show "NFL Total Access" to discuss the five-year, $137.5 million deal between Jimmy Garoppolo and the San Francisco 49ers, which was agreed upon on Thursday.
"One, [the 49ers] believe this will be cheap, according to one source, in a couple of years," Silver said. "It looks like a lot now, but that's the way the market is. But think of the symbolic effect of this. Owner Jed York was criticized, and some would say rightfully. Fired coaches three years in a row. Jim Harbaugh being the first of them after being very successful.
"They now have stability. He gave six-year deals to Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch. John Lynch a first-time GM with no experience. That was obviously a risk. And now they've found their quarterback, who, let's face it, they traded a second-round pick, and that seemed like a steal. And then he went out and balled. They played the Jaguars late in the season, maybe the best defense in football, and just eviscerated them.
"I can't tell you the difference in excitement around that organization now. Fans feel it. At that Jaguars game, late in the game, the Niners got the ball back, getting ready to put more points on the board, and I heard a chant. I'm like, 'What are they chanting?' They were chanting, 'MVP,' which of course, was tongue in cheek. But I guarantee a lot of Niner fans are thinking it's a possibility next year."
My thoughts on the Jimmy G deal, as enunciated on @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/NYXSCBy0ea
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) February 9, 2018
Garafolo was among those to break the news of the agreement between Garoppolo and the 49ers.
"It's not just the numbers. It's not just the wins," Garafolo said. "It's the feel of when Garoppolo came in and replaced C.J. Beathard against the Seahawks, and they score a late touchdown drive. Even though they lost the game, even though the game was not in doubt at the time, it just had that feel. Like, 'Okay, it's Jimmy's time.'
"And then he comes in against the Bears, throws for 293 yards, beats the Texans, and then that drive ... in that Tennessee Titans game, led that two-minute drive. It was Tom Brady-esque. And he has learned at the feet of Brady.
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"So now, the 49ers are sitting there saying, 'We've got our franchise quarterback. We've got a reason for the butts to be in the seats.' And that has been a stadium that has been empty in recent years, and now you've got fans there from start to the finish of the game.
"So they didn't want to get anywhere near the franchise tag deadline, which is in a couple of weeks. They didn't want to play that game, even make it look remotely like the Kirk Cousins situation with the Redskins. They locked him up. Garoppolo gets a chance to say, 'Hey, I'm the highest-paid player in NFL history.'
"Now, that's going to change in a couple of weeks once Cousins hits the free agent market, expected to earn somewhere in the area of $30 million per year with about $100 million in guarantees. And then you're going to have Matt Ryan redo his deal. You're going to have Aaron Rodgers redo his deal.
"So, Garoppolo, like Mike Silver said earlier in the show, might end up looking like a bargain. But for now, such a great contract for a guy who doesn't have a ton of experience."