Jimmy Graham's historic deal: more than a contract

The New Orleans Saints and their prized offensive weapon Jimmy Graham settled their differences and agreed to a historic four year deal today. A win for both sides. Graham is now the highest paid tight end in the history of the NFL. And the New Orleans Saints?

Well....they get Graham.

Let's be honest, without his services, the Saints have virtually no shot to beat the Seahawks or 49ers this year. At least not when it counts. Graham knew it, and so did the Saints. So why was this not a slam dunk?

You guessed it....money. But as negotiations became more contentious..and the resolution drew near...a third winner emerged.

Unable to reach a long term deal this spring, the Saints were exploring the option of placing the franchise tag on Graham. To the casual fan, Graham would have played under a guaranteed one year contract while being paid the average of the top five salaries at his position.

Key word being position.

Graham, a tight end by definition, would have earned  a one year salary of  just over 7 million dollars. His argument to the Saints?

"Hey wait a minute...y'all don't use me like a tight end, y'all use me like a wide receiver."

The franchise tag salary for a wide receiver is just over 12 million dollars.

So it's hard to blame Graham for going to arbitration to fight for his 5 million dollars. After all, he had the numbers to back it up. Over the past three years, Graham has an NFL leading 36 touchdown receptions. More than Calvin Johnson...more than Dez Bryant.

Both considered elite receivers.

The arbitrator ruled in the Saints favor, but they ultimately did the right thing by signing Graham to his well deserved long term deal today. While Graham was fighting for 5 million dollars, he possibly saved the tight end position as we know it.

Ah yes, our third winner.

Had Graham caved and allowed himself to be low balled. Had he not attempted to challenge the system, who knows if he would have gotten the deal he got today? More importantly, who knows if anyone of his skill set would want to play tight end after that? Why not just play another, more lucrative position?

It's happening to the running back position now. The role of an rb has been diminished, and so has it's value....and pay. Look at this year's draft, no running back was drafted in the first round. Look at free agency, running backs were the last position signed for the most part.

And it's not going unnoticed.

If a player in high school is a good running back, and a good cornerback, he may be inclined to play defense in college. After all, it's now a passing league on all levels. Cornerbacks have more value, and value equals money.

Which brings me back to Graham, and his stance.

He ultimately got the deal he wanted. A fair market deal for a unique player of his caliber. He put a spotlight on the tight end position, and how it can be used in revolutionary ways. High school and college players in his mold have hope. Like the mobile qb, don't be surprised if you see a run of hybrid tight ends popping up all over the place now.

The market has been set. If you can deliver insane numbers at the tight end/slot/receiver position, then you can still get your money.

And they have Jimmy Graham to thank.