Buccaneers' Devin White needs to listen what Patrick Mahomes is saying
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had a smooth offseason outside of the Devin White drama that cropped up a month or so ago. For those who don't remember, it was reported White wanted to be traded after he and the Bucs hit an impasse in contract negotiations. Jason Licht responded firmly and clearly that the […]
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had a smooth offseason outside of the Devin White drama that cropped up a month or so ago.
For those who don't remember, it was reported White wanted to be traded after he and the Bucs hit an impasse in contract negotiations. Jason Licht responded firmly and clearly that the he had no interest in trading White, so the conversation got killed off rather quickly.
Still, though, it's a situation that will be revisited again next year. Hell, who knows, it could even be revisited during the season if things go a certain way for the Buccaneers.
White has mentioned before that he wants to be the highest-paid off-ball linebacker in the NFL. Currently, that title belongs to Baltimore Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith, who is making an average of $20 million per year. It's unclear as to whether or not that's actually White's desire, but it's not a reach to think he wants top-5 money, at worst. In that case, the top-5 off-ball LBs make an annual average of $18.749 million in 2023, with C.J. Mosley's $17mil/year average coming in at No. 5.
No matter how you slice it, White wants to be paid – and he wants to be paid handsomely.
It's understandable, too. NFL careers don't last long and playing linebacker is like playing russian roulettte with your health. White also plays 100% of snaps when healthy, so, he's always at risk of suffering a major in jury.
Regardless, the next time White enters contract talks -with whomever- he should keep what Kansas City Chiefs superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes said earlier this week in the back of his head.
"Everybody wants to get paid a lot of money and they think they’re the best at their craft (and so) they want to get paid like that," Mahomes told reporters Wednesday. "But at the same time if you look at the greats in the league, they find that right spot where they get paid a lot of money but at the same time keeping a lot of these great players around…
"… I've always said, I worry about legacy and winning rings more than making money at this moment… I’ll never do anything that’s going to hurt us from keeping the great players that around me."
Granted, Mahomes still believes players should get paid and that's 100% true – players deserve to get paid as much as possible. But like Mahomes said, the great players find ways to get theirs without hurting the team in the big picture.
If that means a few million are docked here and there, who cares? Being the sixth-highest paid linebacker at $16 million/year could mean the Bucs can afford Lavonte David for another year. Or, it could help give Antoine Winfield Jr. the new deal he deserves. It doesn't have to stay on the defensive side of the ball either: White taking a little less could help the Bucs give Tristan Wirfs the mega-deal he's going to eventually get.
There are all kinds of good dominoes that could fall if White were to be less rigid in his contractual desires. Sure, Mahomes has made $80 million so far throughout his career and he's set to make around $419 million from 2023-2031. That easily swallows White's current career earnings of $29,780,814, but the point still stands in the fact that it won't hurt White to take a little less in order to help his team out.
That still doesn't mean it's an easy decision to make, however, and that's completely understandable.
“Yeah it is [a hard line to walk]," said Mahomes. "I think it is for all these guys and I think you see the guys that are getting paid this last offseason [and] they’re trying to find that right spot."
At the same time, if taking a slight hit helps you and your teammates win games, it shouldn't be a huge issue to figure out, ultimately.
