#PayHouston
Justin Houston led the NFL in sacks with 22.0 on the season. Tied for the second most in NFL history.
Flashback to last year at this time. The Kansas City Chiefs had just begun to get over one of the worst playoff comeback loses of all time, and were starting to look at offseason moves that needed to be made. Outside of the draft, there were contracts that some thought should have been extended and things like that. They got many deals done, but one major contract that they did not deal with was 2013 pro-bowl OLB Justin Houston, who finished the 2013 season with 11.5 sacks.
Houston held out of training camp before the 2014 season, hoping to get a new contract. During that time, his projected contract was somewhere near 6 years and $50 million dollars (bleacherreport.com). The Chiefs did not give him a new contract, for whatever the reason.
Now, back to this year. Justin Houston has just finished his last season under contract for the Chiefs. A season that will go down as one of the best ever for a pass rusher, after Houston totaled up 22.0 sacks; second all-time in NFL history, for a single season. After such an elite season, that just so happens to be Houston’s contract year, the predictions for his salary have improved greatly. His new contract prediction is 6 years and $93 million dollars (spotrac.com).
This contract may seem like he is being overpaid, but in reality, it is not that bad of a deal. Compare it to Houston Texan J.J. Watt’s contract which was 6 years and $100 million dollars, and it really is not a bad deal at all, especially when the player that you are signing is one of the most ferocious pass rushers of recent memory.
Houston is not just a true pass rusher, like Von Miller and Elvis Dumervil. He also drops back into pass coverage quite often, making his sack totals even more imposing.
Chiefs’ fans want Houston signed to a deal so much that many of them took to Twitter and started the hashtag #PayHouston. Some of the biggest Chiefs blog accounts and Chiefs reporters have used this hashtag.
So, come on John Dorsey, #PayHouston.
Gridiron Sports 