What Players Were the Best Value for the Chiefs in 2008?
by Chris Thorman on Feb 10, 2009 7:35 AM CST
in 2009 Offseason
27 comments
via ESPN.com
NFL Salary Cap: $116,729,000
Kansas City Chiefs 2008 total payroll: $83,623,776
Median Chiefs salary: $695,000
Okay everyone, here's the logic behind this. Inspired by Behind the Steel Curtain, we're ranking the top five "value" players. In other words, what players did we get the most production out of for the least amount of money?
If you click that BTSC link you'll see that Blitzburgh ranked ten Pittsburgh players. I'm only ranking five Kansas City Chiefs because most of these guys didn't do enough to separate themselves from each other.
In order to limit the debate, I'm only including those players that make less than the median salary ($695,000) or less than two times the median salary ($1.4 million). Not surprisingly, that comes to 36 players so we're not leaving too many players out.
And just for fun, here are the median salaries and total salary of the Chiefs over the last few years.
| Year | Median Salary | Total Payroll |
| 2008 | $695,000 | $83,623,776 |
| 2007 | $822,460 | $108,482,459 |
| 2006 | $710,000 | $81,748,009 |
| 2005 | $780,030 | $83,390,185 |
| 2004 | $788,700 | $84,617,626 |
| 2003 | $705,000 | $77,394,073 |
| 2002 | $552,520 | $71,456,693 |
| 2001 | $576,720 | $59,800,143 |
| 2000 | $505,650 | $ 56,337,20 |
I list my top five best values after the jump. Let us know what your top five are in the comments.
*All salaries taken from USA Today's salary database
Payroll Tier 1 (Median Salary - $695,000 or less)
| Player | Base Salary | Sign Bonus | Other Bonus | Total Salary | Cap Value | Position |
| Dacus, Weston | $ 295,000 | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 295,000 | $ 242,941 | LB |
| Savage, Dantrell | $ 295,000 | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 295,000 | $ 295,000 | RB |
| Puente, Brian | $ 295,000 | $ 3,000 | $ 0 | $ 298,000 | $ 295,000 | OL |
| Leggett, Maurice | $ 295,000 | $ 4,000 | $ 0 | $ 299,000 | $ 297,000 | CB |
| Cox, Mike | $ 295,000 | $ 10,000 | $ 0 | $ 305,000 | $ 300,000 | RB |
| Merritt, Mike | $ 295,000 | $ 32,000 | $ 0 | $ 327,000 | $ 240,372 | TE |
| Johnston, Brian | $ 295,000 | $ 47,277 | $ 0 | $ 342,277 | $ 310,759 | DE |
| Robinson, Kevin | $ 295,000 | $ 73,400 | $ 0 | $ 368,400 | $ 285,937 | WR |
| Martin, Ingle | $ 370,000 | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 370,000 | $ 348,235 | QB |
| Jackson, T.J. | $ 370,000 | $ 0 | $ 5,640 | $ 375,640 | $ 375,640 | DT |
| Smith, Kolby | $ 370,000 | $ 132,875 | $ 5,640 | $ 375,640 | $ 419,931 | RB |
| Thigpen, Tyler | $ 370,000 | $ 57,000 | $ 5,640 | $ 375,640 | $ 375,640 | QB |
| Tyler, Tank | $ 370,000 | $ 525,000 | $ 5,640 | $ 375,640 | $ 550,640 | DT |
| Taylor, Herbert | $ 370,000 | $ 68,750 | $ 5,760 | $ 375,760 | $ 398,676 | OL |
| Richardson, Barry | $ 295,000 | $ 83,450 | $ 0 | $ 378,450 | $ 322,816 | OL |
| Walden, Erik | $ 295,000 | $ 119,000 | $ 0 | $ 414,000 | $ 295,000 | DE |
| Carr, Brandon | $ 295,000 | $ 145,629 | $ 0 | $ 440,629 | $ 343,543 | CB |
| Foschi, John Paul | $ 445,000 | $ 0 | $ 3,720 | $ 448,720 | $ 448,720 | RB |
| Webb, Jeff | $ 445,000 | $ 67,500 | $ 5,160 | $ 450,160 | $ 472,660 | WR |
| Croyle, Brodie | $ 445,000 | $ 0 | $ 5,280 | $ 450,280 | $ 621,946 | QB |
| Page, Jarrad | $ 445,000 | $ 35,875 | $ 5,280 | $ 450,280 | $ 462,239 | S |
| Niswanger, Rudy | $ 445,000 | $ 0 | $ 5,640 | $ 450,640 | $ 450,640 | OL |
| Thomas, Patrick | $ 445,000 | $ 0 | $ 5,640 | $ 450,640 | $ 450,640 | LB |
| Novak, Nick | $ 445,000 | $ 0 | $ 6,120 | $ 451,120 | $ 451,120 | P/K |
| Bradley, Mark | $ 520,000 | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 520,000 | $ 397,647 | WR |
| Smith, Wade | $ 605,000 | $ 0 | $ 3,720 | $ 608,720 | $ 608,720 | OL |
| McGraw, Jon | $ 645,000 | $ 0 | $ 50,000 | $ 695,000 | $ 695,000 | S |
Payroll Tier 2 (2x Median Salary - $1.4 million or less)
| Player | Base Salary | Sign Bonus | Other Bonus | Total Salary | Cap Value | Position |
| Darche, J.P. | $ 730,000 | $ 200,000 | $ 25,000 | $ 755,000 | $ 805,000 | LB |
| Franklin, Will | $ 295,000 | $ 493,000 | $ 0 | $ 788,000 | $ 418,250 | WR |
| Pollard, Bernard | $ 445,000 | $1,060,000 | $ 345,280 | $ 790,280 | $ 715,280 | S |
| McBride, Turk | $ 370,000 | $1,140,000 | $425,640 | $ 795,640 | $ 660,640 | DE |
| Morgan, DaJuan | $ 295,000 | $ 545,000 | $ 0 | $ 840,000 | $ 476,666 | S |
| Cottam, Brad | $ 295,000 | $ 584,000 | $ 0 | $ 879,000 | $ 489,666 | TE |
| Charles, Jamaal | $ 295,000 | $ 600,000 | $ 0 | $ 895,000 | $ 495,000 | RB |
| Johnson, Derrick | $ 745,000 | $ 0 | $ 504,800 | $1,249,800 | $2,214,800 | LB |
5. WR Mark Bradley ($520,000)
For just over half a million dollars, the Chiefs got eight starts, 30 catches, 380 yards receiving and three touchdowns from the former Chicago wide out. Chargers WR Vincent Jackson only made $4,000 more than Bradley this year and about tripled his out output in every category showing there is still a lot of value to be had at this salary.
Even though Bradley was inconsistent and injured, he ended up being a pretty good value for his low salary. He was the third leading receiver behind Tony Gonzalez and Dwayne Bowe. For that and his potential next season if he can stay healthy, I like Bradley's value.
Soundbite: A half million dollars is worth a half of a season from a decent WR, especially with the Chiefs.
4. RB Jamaal Charles ($895,000)
The Texas running back contributed 67 carries for over 350 yards rushing. He was essential during Larry Johnson's suspension when he started two games, making his low salary even more valuable.
Charles could probably be a spot or two back on this list but I'm going to keep him here because starting/#2 running backs are getting more and more expensive in the NFL and he appears to be a good #2.
Soundbite: As teams and schemes move to multiple RBs (and with LJ's future in doubt), Charles bang for his buck is much higher than other RB combo backs.
3. S Jarrad Page ($450,280)
You could have put Jarrad Page on this list somewhere in each of his first three seasons. He's a 16 game starter who came into the NFL as a 7th round pick who is getting paid less than a half million dollars. Add Bernard Pollard in there and you've got your starting secondary paid out at almost $1.3 million last year.
The Raiders paid out over $12 million last year to safeties Michael Huff and Gibril Wilson.The Vikings paid out almost $13 million to their pair of safeties Darren Sharper and Madieu Williams.
Page is no Wilson or Williams but he's an improving starter getting paid at literally 1/20th of those stars salaries. That is a heck of a value.
Soundbite: 7th round starter. Enough said.
2. CB Brandon Carr ($440,629)
Let's see. Brandon Carr will start for the Chiefs next season. He's making $440,000 a year. How much are other starting corners making?
Asante Samuel: $14,145,000. Terrence Newman: $12,611,240. Aqib Talib: $4,945,000. Brandon Flowers: $3,029,000.
I'd say Carr is by far the best value to come out of the 2008 draft.
Soundbite: 5th round starter at corner. Whew, glad we hit on this one.
1. QB Tyler Thigpen ($375,640)
Really? Did you think it was going to be anyone else?
I don't need to go over how much QBs get paid right now in the NFL. Especially top draft pick QBs. Let's not even throw in Thigpen's rushing yards, which rank him second on the team.
Soundbite: All I'm going to say is that Larry Johnson showed up to the 2006 Pro Bowl in car whose base price cost $11,000 more than Thigpen's 2008 salary.
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Just linked the whole salary database at the top
Colquitt made $ 3,130,160 last year.
by Chris Thorman on Feb 10, 2009 7:51 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
with a $2.4 million signing bonus
by Chris Thorman on Feb 10, 2009 7:51 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
At what point do the players get greedy?
I mean, lots of players (or rather their agents) will look at the amount of cap room and say “Hey, my boy deserves some of that (plus 10% for myself)”
Blame my wife!
by sir eccles on Feb 10, 2009 7:56 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
Hmmm
I think most of the salaries are based on what other players of similar production have gotten and not so much on cap space. Because it won’t necessarily be the same amount of cap space from year to year.
by Chris Thorman on Feb 10, 2009 8:02 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Nice Work Chris
Thigpen’s the most value, hands down.
Other than him I’d go with Jamaal Charles who had a pretty darn good rookie season for what we were paying him.
by Joel Thorman on Feb 10, 2009 8:46 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
Love the post
I will say, that IMO, a good value could be at almost any salary. If somehow you could have Bo Jackson from TECMO bowl on your team, if you were paying him $20 million, he’d be the best value in the NFL.
I get that you tried to limit the arguement to players lower on the salary list for argument sake, and I’ll comply with my top 5:
#5. Maurice Leggett ($299,000):
While I’m certainly NOT one to agree with the Chiefs players that Leggett was the teams ROY (Albert, Branden) a sub $300k nickle back, with 2 TD’s, including one that essentially won, one of our two games this year is by definition a great value, and deserving of making the top 5.
#4. Derrick Johnson ($1,249,800):
Derrick is a lot of things. He’s a bit of a disappointment given his physical abilities. He’s frustrating as hell when he doesn’t make plays we all think he should. He’s also the best player on the front 7 of the defense, and I’m not sure it’s even up for discussion – of course I’ll admit that says as much about our front 7 as anything else. I think we’ll see him breakout, at least somewhat, this season in a new scheme and under new coaching. Making him a Mike was ridiculous.
#3. Jarrad Page
I think the top 3 are pretty clear, the only question is whether to swap Page and Carr…and I’m leaving it as you have, mainly b/c I feel like a starting CB is harder to find than a starting FS. Page is a great value, whoever deserves credit for his pick, Herm or Carl, we need to remember this one when we’re dumping on all the others…and there are plenty to dump on.
#2. Brandon Carr
I’m not totally convinced that he’ll end up being a starting CB, it’ll be interesting to see how he does playing more man coverage, but that’s just my natural skepticism. Kid was money last year, and was a total steal in the 5th, can’t wait to see what he does in ’09.
#1. Tyler Thigpen
Well…unlike what seems to be the majority of AP nation, I don’t think Thigpen can be a starter in the NFL. Let’s just get that out of the way. BUT, when you put up the #’s he did last year, in any offense, he deserves high praise, and at less than $400k, there really is no other choice..
Bradley was a tough omission, but I’ll disagree with you and Prime on Charles. If anything, I thought he was a bit of a disappointment, and at $900k and a 3rd round pick, I don’t feel he was even an adequate value. I’m not giving up on him, far from it, but what he did last year, with the drops and the inconsistency…lets just hope that was part of the maturation process, I need to see a lot more out of him next year to be happy with the pick, especially with all of the starting OL that were selected that round or later.
by kcsno56 on Feb 10, 2009 8:54 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
For instance
They have TG’s salary at $1.5 million. If we’re going to rely on that as our figure, he’s the best value on the team, even over Tyler.
by kcsno56 on Feb 10, 2009 9:11 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
It's the cap hit that really matters
And his over $5 million which is about the highest for a TE I believe.
Gotta factor in that nice $10 million bonus.
by Joel Thorman on Feb 10, 2009 9:22 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
That was kind of where I was going
But, we were $35 million under the cap.
by kcsno56 on Feb 10, 2009 9:25 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
And for fun the Worst Value.
#5. Glenn Dorsey ($ 6,933,250) – NO, I’m not giving up on him.
#4. Donnie Edwards ($ 3,752,520)
#3. Demorrio Williams ($ 4,003,720)
#2. Napolean Harris ($ 2,800,000)
#1. Patrick Surtain ($6,000,000)
Pretty easy list. Not hard to figure out how we went 2-14.
by kcsno56 on Feb 10, 2009 9:19 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
I think I'm gonna be sick
Did we really pay these guys that much for nothing? Please Pioli, don’t make the same contract decisions Carl did. Oh, and you could easily throw LJ on the list over overpaid-underachievers.
by Chiefs4Life on Feb 10, 2009 10:06 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
I thought about LJ
But this list was based off of total salary. His was 3.6 mil. As much of a distraction as he was off the field, he still gave us a lot more on it (950 yards, 5 TD’s, 4.5 ypc) than all the guys above. He may be #6, though, just b/c of the headache factor.
by kcsno56 on Feb 10, 2009 10:17 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
But his cap was $2.5 million more
Gotta factor in that fat bonus he got.
by Joel Thorman on Feb 10, 2009 10:20 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Prime
Again, I’m with you, but thats not the #’s Chris was using, just trying to be consistent.
Also, if we’re $35 million under the cap, cap #‘s mean NOTHING. I’m hoping that will change in ‘09, but we’ve been downright cheap the last few seasons.
This deserves its own post, and I may do it someday, but most people don’t realize that we could have kept Jared Allen, and paid him all of the guaranteed money he’s getting from the Vikes ($35 mil) as a roster bonus, put the entire cap hit on this year, and have complied with NFL rules.
So after this year, we’d have him for 6 years at about 5.5 mil per season in base salary, AND cap hit. When you are $35 million under the cap, thats wasted dollars you never get back, the same concept holds for resigning TG, instead of a signing bonus, we could have just made that a roster bonus, and his cap # would be around a million now.
by kcsno56 on Feb 10, 2009 10:28 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
You're right
I zoned out there for a minute. Good points.
by Joel Thorman on Feb 10, 2009 10:35 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
No worries
I’m excited for this to change under the Pioli regime.
by kcsno56 on Feb 10, 2009 11:08 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Yep
Lots of posts to be had with these salary numbers.
by Chris Thorman on Feb 10, 2009 11:07 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
I still want to vomit
Crunching the numbers on LJ’s pay and his production makes me lose faith in humanity. I mean, the guy got paid nearly $3,700 for each yard he rushed in a game (pukes). Also, how does a “premiere” back manage to score a TD once every three games (pukes again)? What a clown.
by Chiefs4Life on Feb 10, 2009 11:09 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Thigpen is a Steal
Man the Chiefs found a diamond in the rough. – BettorFan.com
by BettorFan on Feb 10, 2009 9:45 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
Jon McGraw
Damn $695K per year for sacking groceries?!?!?
I made $5.65 per hour when I did it.
If you go out and you’re looking for the girl to wink at you and she hasn’t winked at you before 12 she isn’t going to. You might as well go home.
by craig in calgary on Feb 10, 2009 9:55 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
DO NOT
TALK ABOUT JON MCGRAW THAT WAY! HE IS MY 4TH COUSIN TWICE REMOVED! :)
by paratrooper on Feb 10, 2009 12:24 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Very funny.
I am on a quest to find the answer to one of life's great mysteries-
Is guppy alive?
by saskwatch on Feb 11, 2009 8:28 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
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