MVN - Most Valuable Network

Marion Barber Should be Paid…And How!

     A little after 3 this afternoon, Marion Barber is going to sign his next contract with the Dallas Cowboys. 

     More than likely, it will be a one-year deal worth $2.562 million, which is still not a bad salary for playing a ballgame for a living. 

     However, Barber probably wants it to be more; in fact, it should be more.  Over the past two seasons, Barber has demonstrated that he’s one of the premier running backs in the National Football League.

     Guess what?  Those guys–the premier backs–have been paid.  Kansas City gave Larry Johnson $43.2 million; Clinton Portis is banking $50.5 million from Washington; LaDainian Tomlinson sleeps with $60 million.

    Even guys who only back-up the premier guys are gettin’ theirs (see: Michael Turner’s $34 million from Atlanta). 

     Now, it’s time Barber got his.

     He’s asking for a similar deal ($40-60 million), and the team has countered with $30 million.  Again, that’s not bad.  Perhaps, though, Barber has forgotten the team is in the middle of paying for the $1.1 billion JerryWorld…oh wait, the city of Arlington is covering $325 million (the suckers), and the naming rights will bring at least $500 million.  Bottom line, Jerry’s got the cash.

     Many may remember my inaugural article on this site chiding Jerry Jones for the lucrative contract extension he gave Tony Romo.  Before the emails come in about my hypocrisy, it’s important to note that the two players are in vastly different situations.

     At the time, Romo had played just about 16 career NFL games, had finished the previous season in a most disastrous manner, and had not shown he could bounce back from the biggest muff since the Soviets invaded Afghanistan.

     Barber, though, has proven already proven himself as arguably the most dynamic football player in the world.  First of all, he’s already played for three seasons-Romo sat for three and really has only played for a season and a half. 

     Secondly, he has demonstrated his talent in every situation over a longer period of time.  While each player made the Pro Bowl despite not starting at the beginning of a season (although Barber never started in the regular season), Barber was able to make a more lasting impact.  In 2006, he scored 14 touchdowns; last year 10, with 975 rushing yards…as a backup.  Moreover, he’s averaged nearly 5 yards per carry, in the National Football League, for two consecutive years.  His career average is 4.5.

     Lastly, Romo collapsed under pressure in the postseason, and it wasn’t a sure thing he would be able to recover.  This year, Barber had his tough stretch–in Weeks 14, 15, and 17 last season, he was given 7, 7, and 6 carries.  The one game over the last quarter-season he was allowed to perform, he dropped 110 yards and a touchdown on Carolina.

     Then, in his first career playoff start, he lit up the Giants for 129 yards and another touchdown.  If the team had stayed committed to him over the season’s final four games and in the postseason, Dallas would’ve finished 15-1 and won the Super Bowl. 

     Based on the where Romo was when he got his extension, and where Barber is now, there is absolutely no justification for not giving Barber all the money he wants. 

     $40 million?  You got it.

     $50 million?  In hundreds, sir, or thousands?

     Consider the following:

     Marion Barber’s cumulative stats over his first two 16-game seasons: 339 attempts, 1,629 yards, 24 touchdowns, 4.8 ypc.

     Tomlinson, over his first two 16-game seasons: 711/2,919/24/4.1.  (Barber had the exact same number of touchdowns in about half the chances).

     Emmitt Smith: 606/2,500/23/4.1.

     Larry Johnson: 752/3,539/37/4.7.

     Barry Sanders: 535/2,774/27/5.2.

     Tony Dorsett: 498/2332/19/4.7.

     Analysis: Barber has very similar–in many cases, better–numbers to the greatest running backs of all time at similar career points.  But, those men all started, so Barber has performed as well with significantly less opportunities to touch the football.  And, perhaps most importantly, he has substantially less wear and tear on his body because he split time.  Bottom line: he’s more prepared to maintain or exceed his level of play than they were.

     Pay the man.

     Brian Smith can be reached at BLSmith@mail.utexas.edu

     Listen to Brian talk sports every Tuesday, 9-11 a.m. cst, only at kvrx.org

    

This entry was posted on Friday, April 18th, 2008 at 7:29 am and is filed under The Cowboy Roundup. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.