Tennessee Titans: How Derrick Henry's market changes with Christian McCaffrey's extension
NASHVILLE — A new NFL running back sits a top the financial pecking order and his name is not Derrick Henry. The Carolina Panthers signed Christian McCaffrey to a four-year extension worth $16 million annually on Monday, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Becoming the first player in the history of professional football to accumulate 2,500 rushing yards […]
NASHVILLE — A new NFL running back sits a top the financial pecking order and his name is not Derrick Henry.
The Carolina Panthers signed Christian McCaffrey to a four-year extension worth $16 million annually on Monday, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Becoming the first player in the history of professional football to accumulate 2,500 rushing yards and 2,500+ receiving yards through his first three seasons earned him the position's richest contract.
Doing all of this at the age of 23 does not hurt, either.
Less than a month prior to McCaffrey's new deal, the Tennessee Titans placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on Henry. The 2019 NFL rushing champion more than earned the security and comfort that an extension would provide but was secured by Tennessee at a fixed rate. Under the tag, Henry's services will cost the Titans only $10.2M, per spotrac. The move provides much-needed salary cap relief to the team as they pursue consistency and a fifth-straight winning season.
Carolina beating Tennessee in the race to do a long-term running back deal, though, leaves the Titans exposed to future Henry contentions.
Representatives for Henry and GM Jon Robinson will have until July 15 to negotiate an extension while the player is tagged. After the deadline passes, Henry would play the 2020 season under the one-year tag at his current $10M+ cap cost. Securing the focal point of the Titans offense for nearly $5 million less than Ezekiel Elliott's previous high-water mark helps immediately but the bill on Henry will come due.
"At the end of the day we couldn’t come to an agreement on that one, and so we used one of the avenues to keep Derrick, because Derrick is an important part of our football team," Robinson said on a conference call earlier this month. "I’ve spoken to his representatives after we used the tag. We want to continue to have those discussions, and those back-and-
forths, in hopes of reaching some type of long-term agreement."
Henry, 26, was never going to command the kind of money that his counterparts in Charlotte or Dallas both received. The price tag inflate, however, for a player who shouldered the burden of taking his team to an AFC Championship Game appearance. It bears nothing that both sides have acted in good faith in trying to keep Henry in Nashville for years to come.
For now, McCaffrey's contract only serves to widen the wage gap between Tennessee and the one they call King.
Featured Image: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports.
