- 9 hours ago
Drake London is here to stay for four more years after the Atlanta Falcons reportedly agreed to an extension worth a reported $141 million. 92.9 The Game Falcons Insider Joe Patrick joined Chris Thomas Tonight to react to the deal as the news broke.
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00:00Falcons are signing wide receiver Drake London to a four-year $141 million extension worth up to $150 million, including
00:10$100 million guaranteed per his agent Andrew Kessler.
00:15It makes London the third highest paid receiver in the league with the highest average per year in Falcons franchise
00:23history.
00:25Wow. Blockbuster deal for Drake London.
00:28Let's head out to the Sweet James Accident attorney's hotline.
00:31If you're on hold, stay there.
00:33You will be first up as soon as we get back.
00:36Joe Patrick, your initial thoughts on this deal?
00:40Certainly, he got his bag well-earned, well-deserved.
00:43What do you make of this one?
00:46Yeah, I think, well, first of all, it's obviously great for the Falcons just to get this done.
00:52You know, instead of putting aside the money and what we're going to talk about in that respect,
00:56I think just from, you know, a team standpoint, I don't even want to call it marketing so much,
01:02but I think just because he is a core player for this team and the organization and how they're building
01:07for the future,
01:07I just think that it's really, really important not to get into a prolonged kind of standoff with, you know,
01:14that kind of player.
01:14Even though I felt like this deal was always going to get done, I was worried that Drake was kind
01:19of going to be able to let this thing
01:21string out more and more and let that price tag just keep going up and up.
01:25So I think, first and foremost, it's great for the Falcons that they get it done.
01:28But I also think, Chris, you know, when you do look at the numbers of this deal, I mean, obviously,
01:33it's good for Drake London.
01:34It makes him, you know, by average annual value, it makes him the third most expensive receiver of all time.
01:38So, you know, in absolute dollars, only two receivers in NFL history have ever, you know, put more of those
01:45in their pocket than Drake London.
01:48So it's great for him in that respect.
01:50But it's all, but, you know, when you look at it as it relates to the salary cap, it's not
01:55as expensive of a deal as like the third most expensive deal for a wide receiver.
02:01I haven't actually gotten into the numbers and I'm just kind of doing my cursory research right now.
02:05But I would estimate that this puts him like somewhere in the 20s as it relates to, you know, his
02:10cost against the salary cap.
02:12I have it at about 11.7% right now.
02:16So that's a pretty good deal, I think, for the Falcons.
02:19And the reason that he's even like the number 20, like in the 20s, as far as, you know, value
02:23against the cap is because the meta in terms of like how teams are building their rosters,
02:28how GMs are constructing their rosters and how much these wide receivers make has just drastically changed really in the
02:33last six, seven years.
02:34But these guys are now getting premium contracts where in the past they didn't.
02:39So I think it's a great deal all around.
02:41And it certainly sets the table for more deals to get done for more of these core players for the
02:47Falcons down the line.
02:48The only question is, Joe, and it just comes down to personal preferences, if you believe, and clearly the Falcons
02:55do, that Drake London is in the class of these four.
02:59JSN, Jamar Chase, Justin Jefferson, and CeeDee Lamb.
03:03Those are the guys making 34-plus a year.
03:05There's only four of them, as you mentioned, in the NFL right now.
03:09And clearly, Joe, the Falcons' answer to that question was, at least at the bare minimum, we're willing to go
03:15there, as you alluded to,
03:17in order to keep things copacetic and in order to keep you as a core of our offense for years
03:22to come.
03:23Yeah, exactly.
03:25And, you know, it's, well, I don't know what word I was going to use for it.
03:30But when you put him up against those other guys, it does make you think, like, is Drake London that
03:35good?
03:36Like, is he as good as Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb, you know, JSN?
03:40Because those guys, when I think about those guys, I think about guys who can score a touchdown anytime they
03:45touch the football, potentially.
03:46And I don't think of Drake London as being that kind of guy.
03:49But you look at Drake's numbers, I mean, he's been extremely impressive just in terms of the production that he's
03:55put up.
03:55Obviously, he missed a decent amount of time last year, having missed that stretch down at the end of the
04:01year.
04:02But if you look at the year before that, when he was healthy most of the year, you know, he
04:06came fourth in the NFL in receiving yards,
04:09which puts him, you know, basically right where his contract lines up now.
04:12So, you know, I think the main thing with Drake, and it's no small thing, is can he stay healthy
04:18as a big body,
04:19as a guy who's going to catch those passes over the middle and probably take more hits?
04:23And he's just probably naturally not quite as agile as some of these other guys that we've talked about
04:27who may be able to get a wriggle away from some of the hits.
04:30Can he stay healthy?
04:31I think that's kind of the biggest question.
04:33I think if he stays healthy for the majority of this contract, then he's going to pay it off,
04:38because I do think he's that good.
04:39And I think that, but on the other side of it, you know, as a bigger wide receiver,
04:43I think he is more reliable in some ways for the quarterback, just in presenting a target,
04:47kind of always being able to pick up tough first downs and things like that.
04:52And he's just, I think has a little bit different usage, like usage, just in terms of stylistically,
04:58how you, what types of routes he runs, how you tactically get the most out of him versus some of
05:05these other guys.
05:06But, but he's obviously been super important for the Falcons, you know,
05:09regardless of how we kind of look at him versus some of these other guys.
05:12He's, he's obviously been somebody that the Falcons really need in that lineup to have success.
05:16And I think for that reason, again, the Falcons will be very happy to have gotten it done.
05:21Level of surprise.
05:22He gets his deal before Bajon.
05:24A little surprise.
05:25I was one of the ones who was actually kind of saying that I felt like Bajon's deal was a
05:30little easier to do,
05:32just like in terms of the, the impetus being there from, from both sides.
05:38But clearly, you know, I guess I was wrong, basically, because I mean, this deal did get done.
05:44And it's, you know, I think a pretty reasonable number.
05:47I thought that this thing could have potentially gone higher,
05:49especially when we saw Jackson Smith and Jimba get 42 million.
05:52I thought that thing could have potentially gotten up into like the high thirties.
05:56And maybe that is something that was, you know, negotiated at some point.
05:59But, you know, I, I think it's, I think it's good that it gets done.
06:03And, you know, I will say though, having said why, I do think that it's kind of a deal to
06:10get Bajon,
06:10a Bajon deal is kind of, you know, you can see both sides kind of coming together.
06:15The Falcons aren't necessarily pressed to get that done.
06:17Now they want to get it done for the reasons that they want to get Drake done in terms of
06:20him
06:20just being this core player and this player that they want to build around for the longer term.
06:25Um, but you know, they had a year where they were going to be able to pay him very cheap.
06:29And for a running back, you know, you might be not, I don't know, skittish to kind of like
06:33paying them really before their Dukes.
06:35I think that's one to come for Bajon Robinson, but, uh, maybe the deadline kind of wasn't
06:40pressing them in the same way that it was, was, uh, for this deal for Drake.
06:45All right. So with that in fold, um, what do you think this does for the salary cap for
06:51the future of the team? Are these deals going to be able to, and as you, you mentioned at
06:56the start, the Drake London deal may not actually be the full, you know, $35 million against
07:01the cap every single year. How do you think this sets them up for the future?
07:06Yeah. I mean, I think they're in, uh, it'll be interesting to see how the contract is structured.
07:10Uh, obviously it's not like they don't have other big contracts that they have to pay this
07:14year, but it certainly helps that, you know, you're only paying to talk about lower, you
07:19know, $1.5 million to be your quarterback this year. And that gives them a certain amount
07:22of flexibility. Having said that, you know, they're still paying to have gotten parted
07:27with, uh, with, with Kirk cousin. So, um, there's always those dynamics involved, but overall,
07:33I mean, I think that this is just, um, it makes, you know, it makes sense for the Falcons
07:37to do this. And I think that they'd be, it's interesting. They have this, uh,
07:41quarterback situation. They do, because obviously like I actually did the math on this on a podcast,
07:45Joe Patrick on football on a 99 games, YouTube channel a while back, but basically what the
07:50napkin math that we did, uh, as it relates to the salary that you're paying at the quarterback
07:54position is it kind of came out in a wash this year, because again, that dead cap that
07:59you're still paying for cousins, but then it potentially gets a lot cheaper, you know,
08:02next year. And that some of that depends on, you know, what you are doing with two of
08:06the Falcons center. He's only on a one year deal. Um, but basically the Falcons are not
08:10tied down to a massive contract at that position where a lot of teams are. And, um, you do wonder
08:17if that potentially would have impacted them if they did, you know, if they were held down
08:22by a big Kirk cousins contract, if they were to have continued with him, which I don't think
08:26was ever going to happen, but you know, just, just to make the argument, um, could have been
08:30more difficult. I think that, um, not having that big quarterback contract in the picture
08:34here allows them some more flexibility to do some of these other deals for some of these
08:39skilled players around the quarterback.
08:41Now, the one bugaboo here, um, potential drawback, you mentioned it briefly. Let's expand on it
08:47a little bit. Drake does miss a game or two almost every season. Is that any sort of concern?
08:53It's a concern for me for sure. I mean, like, you know, you, you, you're only getting value
08:58out of these players if they're out there on the field. Um, but, uh, but you know, having said
09:03that it's like, it's football, you can say that about any player, you know, and, and, and every
09:07player misses time at some point because they have these injuries. So, you know, I do think the risk
09:15is slightly higher with Drake just because of what we've seen from him, but it's not like he's dealt
09:20with significant injuries, you know, that have really kind of, like he hasn't had to have
09:26ligaments reconstructed or anything like that. That's really going to like set him back athletically
09:30at this point. I think he's, you know, still probably reaching his athletic peak and, um,
09:36you know, you knock on wood and hope that he can continue to avoid those injuries. But, uh, you know,
09:41it's just something that every team is going to deal with. I just think that it's a little bit higher
09:44for Drake when it comes to like your, your bumps and bruises and things like that, that can leave
09:48you out for one to four weeks. Wrapping up our conversation, our weekly spot with Joe Patrick
09:54reacting to the breaking news about Drake London, getting his massive four-year, $141 million
10:01extension here on Chris Thomas tonight, 92.9 The Game. Make sure you check out Joe on Joe Patrick
10:05on football, wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube. When's the next time you think we get
10:10an update about the QB competition? Who's going to be throwing the ball to Drake this year?
10:15Well, it won't be until, it won't be until next week. We get another update. There's no OTAs. Uh,
10:20I don't know if there's OTAs at all this week, or there's just not any media availability this week,
10:24but we'll have another media availability next week. Having said that, I don't think we're going
10:27to get any major updates about that. Uh, you know, next week or anything that competition
10:32between Pennix and Tua will obviously take place in training camp. And my take on this, uh, Chris
10:37is that I think that while it is a competition, I think there, I think it's going to be a
10:42shorter
10:43competition. A lot of people take, like when we talk about it as being a competition, I think a
10:46lot of people envision in their heads that being something that kind of goes all the way through
10:50training camp and then kind of near the end, you get your answer. And I kind of feel like it's
10:55going
10:56to be competition, but I think they're going to kind of settle on who it's going to be relatively
11:02early and maybe like in the, like even before you get to the halfway point, honestly, of training camp
11:07so that then that quarterback can start to really get those reps with Drake London and,
11:12and, and get things nailed down on that sense. And so, um, who's going to be them? I, you know,
11:16I don't know where we'll see. And that's why it'll be fun to see, uh, made the best man win.
11:21You know, I think every Falcon fan should take solace in that no matter who you want or who you
11:24think,
11:25um, would be preferable for the Falcons, uh, to win the job. Then we can all take solace in knowing
11:30that they're going to be competing and, you know, the coaching staff will decide on who's the best one.
11:33I wonder if the $35 million receiver will now get some input on who he wants to own him the
11:39rock.
11:40That'll be interesting. Joe, great stuff. Uh, be a heck of a couple of, uh, next podcasts here to
11:44listen to. Well, yeah, we'll be locked in on Joe Patrick on football. We'll talk next week, man.
11:50Thanks. All right. Thanks Chris. That is Joe Patrick.
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