Lamar Jackson’s latest contract saga has made him the NFL’s higher per-annum earner today. Standing at a staggering $52 million a year, he is undoubtedly the envy of every QB in the league. However, it seems even this massive deal is nothing but a grain of sand when compared to the $643 million, 3-year contract that European Soccer player Karim Benzema just signed.
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Benzema will be earning around $215 million every year with Saudi club Al-Ittihad. Just to put that into perspective, Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts and Aaron Rodgers earn in the $52-50 million per year category. However, the most shocking part is that Benzema will be earning yearly almost as much as what an NFL team’s salary cap is, which is around $224 million.
Karim Benzema signs massive deal with Al-Ittihad to play in Saudi Arabia
Karim Benzema signed a 3-year deal with Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad, which will kick in after his contract with Real Madrid ends this season. The French soccer star’s contract now overshadows the one Messi had with PSG and is almost comparable to Cristiano Ronaldo’s contract at Al-Nassr.
In comparison to the NFL, each team gets a salary cap of around $224 million every year. The teams have to ensure that all their player-related expenses (salary, bonuses, etc.) fall within this prescribed limit. The fact that a single player is earning more than what an entire NFL team earns per year, as highlighted by Bleacher Report in the Instagram post below, is a staggering and shocking thought. Especially since the NFL is supposedly one of the richest leagues in the world.
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The NFL started using salary caps back in 1994. It was introduced to level the playing field for teams competing. The league did not want an ultra-rich team to have an advantage just because they had more money. Over the years, the salary caps have been adjusted, and with revenues increasing, the salary cap also has seen a massive rise.
Will such extravagant contracts tempt NFL players to demand more?
Soccer as a sport is already growing in the United States. Thanks to the MLS, and the National Teams making a mark abroad, fans in America have started to embrace the sport. Including young players, who have started venturing into following the sport as a career. That could potentially topple football as the dominant sport in the country, especially why youngsters see the massive contracts soccer has to offer.
Added to that, NFL players themselves could start asking for higher contracts. QBs are already breaking existing trends by getting more money every year, but that could soon spread to other positions as well. The NFL may just have to do away with salary caps to attract potential future stars to the league. If not, youngsters could very well start playing soccer in the hopes of getting more money.
