As quarterback Colin Kaepernick has helped the 49ers get to consecutive National Football Conference Championship games, and made a Super Bowl appearance in 2012. The question is Kaepernick really worth being paid among the elite quarterbacks in the league?
Kaepernick is entering the final season of the contract he signed as a rookie back in 2011. Reports have surfaced that he wants to be paid among the top five quarterbacks in the league, with contracts starting at $18 million per year.
The average salary of the top five quarterbacks in the league is $20,410,000 according to Spotrac.com.
It is evident he has played well enough for the 49ers to still keep winning games, but is he the key to the 49ers? Has he done enough to be considered among the best of the best in the NFL? Has Kaepernick proved that he can impact games for the better?
Kaepernick has completed 382 of his 639 passes good enough for a 59.8 completion percentage in all three of his seasons. He has thrown for 5,046 yards and has 31 touchdowns with only 11 interceptions.
Keep in mind the 49ers are a run-orientated team, but we have seen several quarterbacks throw for more yards than 5,046 yards in one season, let alone three. His completion percentage in 2013 was good enough for 31st in the league out of 32 starters.
It was clear at times Kaepernick would look to only his first read and never look to his second and third options in plays. Some days Kaepernick hasn’t even thrown for 100 yards or completed more than 10 passes. That is just inexcusable for an elite quarterback; Peyton Manning can throw for 100 yards in his sleep.
You can’t say that he is hurting the team though; the 49ers have gone 17-6 with Kaepernick under center. He has at times showed that he is among the elite signal callers in the league. He threw for 412 yards and had three touchdowns against Green Bay in week one of the 2013 season, or when he was 21-34 for 310 yards and two touchdowns against Arizona in week 17 of the 2013 season.
He also has those days where you can only scratch your head.
Against Seattle in week two of the 2013 season he was 13-28 for 127 yards with zero touchdowns and thee interceptions. Or like the stinker against the Texans, who possessed the worst record in the league, where he was also 6-15 for 113 yards with one touchdown. Or how about the time against Carolina in week 10 where Kaepernick was 11-22 for 91 yards with zero touchdowns and one interception?
There is the argument saying Kaepernick is best come playoff time. He has been to a super bowl and has been to consecutive NFC title games, but that’s just it; he has been to those games but hasn’t really won anything yet.
In 2012, Kaepernick had a 61.3 competition percentage with 798 yards and four touchdowns against two interceptions and total quarterback rating of 87.6 and a 100.6 passer rating.
The story of the 2012 postseason was Kaepernick’s legs. He ran for 264 yards on 25 carries with three touchdowns.
In 2013, the thunder was still there in his legs as Kaepernick ran for another 243 yards, but he struggled to move the ball through the air. Kaepernick completed only 54.9 percent of his passes for 576 yards and had three touchdowns with three interceptions.
Playing in a Super Bowl is huge and is a very big accomplishment but this is not a world where we reward second place. No one remembers the Rex Grossman’s of the world.
The 49ers are a team on the brink of winning a Super Bowl. They possess one of the best defensive units in football. They also boast two pro-bowl caliber wide receivers in Michael Crabtree and Anquan Boldin, an all-pro tight end in Vernon Davis, a pro-bowl running back in Frank Gore and four pro-bowlers on the offensive line. That’s not to mention former coach of the year and quarterback guru, head coach Jim Harbaugh.
Kaepernick is in the perfect environment to succeed. A lot like the 2009-2010 Jets, who went to consecutive AFC title games behind a stout defense, power running game and a young inconsistent signal caller in Mark Sanchez.
Not to say Sanchez is as good as Kaepernick, because Kaepernick’s legs add a whole different dimension to the game that Sanchez never had. But Sanchez got a $58.25 million contract with $20.5 million guaranteed.
Sanchez got his money for his playoff success even with his inconsistencies and critical mistakes, but he didn’t get as much as a Super Bowl champion quarterback would have. He was recently released by the Jets after management went with Geno Smith at quarterback.
Kaepernick has been successful in the playoffs; he has a 4-2 record. He boasts three road playoff wins, more than Joe Montana and Steve Young combined. It’s always great to be mentioned in the news but that won’t keep your job. Kaepernick’s three road playoff wins are just as many as the previously mentioned Sanchez.
To say you’re among the elite in the league, you have to back it up, like Eli Manning did in 2012 when the New York Giants won their second ring.
Kaepernick’s playoff success has been limited. He has been to a super bowl and two NFC title games, but that is just not good enough to be paid among the elite. You don’t get paid for failing to score from the five-yard line on four straight plays, losing the Super Bowl. You surely do not get paid for making critical turnovers in the fourth quarter of an NFC title game loss.
I am all in favor of giving Kaepernick a fair market value quarterback deal, but just because bad contracts exist, doesn’t mean that Kaepernick has to have one also. Kaepernick should get something in the $10-15 million per season range, but anything above that is just too much for the inconsistent gunslinger.