The cost of doing business ain't cheap

Let's put aside the fanciful talk of adding this guy and re-signing that guy for a moment and consider what all this stuff is going to cost, shall we?

Let me scare you right off the bat:

If the Dolphins want to add an elite wide receiver this offseason in free agency -- assuming one is even available -- it is going to cost around $9-$11 million per season. That's according to former NFL agent and salary cap expert Joel Corry,  who now writes about NFL contracts and the salary cap for the National Football Post.

"The high end UFA WRs will be looking at Vincent Jackson's 5-year, $55,555,555 deal ($26M GTD) as a benchmark," Corry tweeted to me on Thursday.

That is $11 million a year, folks.

Obviously, there are two things at play that must be stipulated.

That price is for a Vincent Jackson-type wide receiver. The player asking for that money must offer that enormous amount of talent. Jackson caught 72 passes for 1,384 yards (a whopping 19.2 yards per catch) and eight TDs in 2012. I'm not certain anyone on the market rises to that level of ability.

Jackson is a deep threat all day long and he also happens to be 6-5 and 230 pounds. (Yeah, amazing).

And the $11 million is the starting asking price. It is not necessarily the final price.

While any elite wide receiver on the market may want $11, I'm sure most will be talked off that skyscrapper ledge to a much lower floor. I'd say, and this is a conservative estimate, the elite wide receiver on the market this year will get around $10 million per season and it'll fall sharply from there. Remember, Wes Welker made $9.55 million under a franchise tag in 2012 and would cost $11.4 million if tagged in 2013 -- which is unlikely.

By the way, the cost of doing business in the wide receiver market won't be cheap for the Dolphins even if they stick with what they got. Pending free agent Brian Hartline, a No. 2 receiver, will be looking for $5-$6 million per year on the open market if he gets there.

Greg Jennings? He'll be hovering in the $8-$9 million annual range.

And the price at other positions won't be much cheaper.

Elite cornerbacks are expecting $10 million per season. Agents will be looking at Brandon Carr's five-year $50 million deal with Dallas and Jason McCourty's 5-year, $43 million deal to stay in Tennesee and see that as the numbers to shoot for.

So Carr is averaging $10 million a year while McCourty is averaging $8.6 million per year.

That's the zip code cornerback Sean Smith expects to inhabit at the start of free agency. And yes, he's likely going to free agency. I don't think the Dolphins will pay that kind of money for Smith. They see him as a good player who still has unmet potential. They do not see him as a game-changer or playmaker.

There are also questions about how Smith will react professionally once he gets paid. Will he cruise? Will he feel entitled? Will the work ethic suffer?

(Kindly post comments on whether you believe Sean Smith is worth $8.6 million per season in the appropriate section below).

That's the cost of doing business, folks.

The Dolphins will be lucky to re-sign Randy Starks for the $6 million a year Paul Soliai got in March of 2012. The Herald's Barry Jackson tells me the sides have opened talks but are not close.

I'll say.

I would imagine Starks will be the highest-paid DT on the team, seeing as he's the only one that's been to a couple of Pro Bowls. But I don't see how the Dolphins can pay him the $8 million per year that Vince Wilfork makes or certainly not the $12 million per year that Haloti Ngata makes.

So that might land him in the $7 million a year slot.

That might well be the cost of doing business.

Comments

[Dave]

Very good article. It is good to provide real-world numbers & data to help get the pie-in-the-sky speculation more grounded to reality. Thank you.

[Nj]

Ron son is your mom a prostitute

[Craig M]

Funny stuff....how many other names do you guys post under? It's you and your mass army....yep, you've got us all fooled.

[Nj]

Ron son is your dad a hooker

[Tradition]

Craig, stick to ice hockey, bubba

[Nj]

We will sign a fa wr and a te as well as draft some as well and we will overspend that's life in the nfl but it will make a huge difference

[Ron Son]

Craig thinks Ireland drafted Dan Marino! LMAO!!!!!!!!

[Craig M]

Tradition,

You'r a waste of my breath, bud. I'll let you bang it around with somebody else....

[Dolfan Rick]

What is with all this cheap Ross talk?? I mean we're right up against the cap evey year. Off the field they've upgraded the training facility and the locker room and clubhouse. Now he's trying to upgrade the stadium.

Now the man might not be the most football savvy as owners go but he's wiing to do whatever it takes to build a winner here.

Its not like you could choose who owns the team anyway but I'm fine..actually elated with who we've got. I've seen some pretty cheap owners in my day. Especially before free agency.

[Shula 73]

Craig predicted 11-5 last season. Just so you guys know.

[dusty bottoms]

kris did not craig

[Shula 73]

Dolfan Rick,

As far as building a winner, the proof is in the pudding. 4 losing seasons in a row. Ross seems more concerned with the logo, celebrities, the stadium, and hard knocks, then actually working to build a winner.

[Craig M]

Shula 73,

AGAIN another made up piece of crap info from you. Like everything else on here you're wrong. I predicted 4-12. But I'll let you spin your lies...it's what you and your aliases do.

[Tradition]

Craig 2 words. Ice fishing.

[Shula 73]

Craig you made up bullcrap about Flynn. Prove you didnt predict 11-5. I'm waiting...

[Craig M]

Tradition,

That's not even remotely funny. You do realize they o a lot of ice fishing in Wisconsin and Minnesota, right? Think those guys know anything about football?

I've never been ice-fishing in my life.

What else you got Einstein?

[Dolfan Rick]

Dolfan Rick,

As far as building a winner, the proof is in the pudding. 4 losing seasons in a row. Ross seems more concerned with the logo, celebrities, the stadium, and hard knocks, then actually working to build a winner.

Posted by: Shula 73 | January 27, 2013 at 02:21 PM

He's the owner not the GM but tell us how you would build a winner Shula 73..

[Tradition]

Wisconsin and Minnesota? They dont know crap about DOLPHIN football.

[dusty bottoms]

shula kris predcited 11-5

[Shula 73]

Rick,

I'm no expert other then to observe that Ross has not been successful at winning. Maybe an experienced winning GM and HC would help?

[Craig M]

Shula 73,

Why don't you ask some of the regulars? That good enough for you? dusty's told you a few times. I guess like everything else in life you just believe what ever you want to believe, regardless of what the facts say?

You're some old guy, right? Life been pretty tough? You stike me as an old bitter dude, where not too much has gone right in life. Keep taking it out on everyone else. It's obviously everyone else's fault.

[Craig M]

Dolfan Rick,

Shula 72 is some senile old fart who life hasn't panned out quite the way he'd hoped. He's got NOTHING of value to contribue on here, other than negative, negative, negative.

Let him rant on. It's his only forum to vent. It's either this or drowning hi answers in a bottle of booze.

[Shula 73]

Craig, dusty is just one of your aliases. Thats proof? LOL

[Tradition]

Craig = CLUELESS out of touch out of towner.

[Craig M]

Shula 73,

There's another made up lie. dusty is one of my aliases? Shows you how very little you actually know. If you know anything you'd know that dusty and I agree on very little. I come to respect dusty much more than I did in the begninning but there's very little we see eye to eye on. Again, the regulars can back that up....unless of course you think I'm all of the regulars too.

[Craig M]

Tradition,

Dead right man. Cause EVERYONE knows just how well informed the Miami residents are on their team. Most of them couldn't give a sh*t what happens to the Dolphins and that's part of the problem.

So much for your theory that you have to be resident to have any clue what happens to the team. You have heard of the Internet and TV, right?

So what else you got?

[Tradition]

Craig makes stuff up to suit his agenda. He has no idea what is aaid by the players or coaches on radio shows or tv shows or in person. Just make stuff up.

[Tradition]

I see and talk to Dolphin players every day. Am I gonna listen to someone in Canada? HAHA

[Craig M]

Funny stuff...

Great way to spend a Sunday guys.

[Dolfan Rick]

Shula,

Huizenga didn't get it done either. I can't remember how many years that was.

Ross did try to sign Jim Harbaugh. I know he was unsuccessful but it looks like Harbaugh would have been a good choice. You can't blame Harbaugh for making the choice he made.

I like the consolation we got in Philbin. This offseason will tell us if keeping Ireland was the right choice.

Though I try to be optimistic I'm not sure I agree with the path were taking so far. 6 unsigned starters is a tad risky if you ask me.

[Eisel]

Justin LoadSwallower

Value is a word most of us learned in the 3rd grade. You are still working on 2nd grade spelling.

We drafted Pat White #2. Was he worth a #2? That is what you call poor value, overpay.

It would be like you paying 50 bucks for a can of Bud Lite. Terms you can understand.

[Viper]

Philbin did say he had no idea why Flynn went to Seattle, but it was just him obviously being diplomatic. We offered Flynn far less, because Philbin knew his real value wasn't worth what Seattle was offering him, and he was right. He couldn't beat out a 3rd round rookie.

[Shula 73]

Rick,

No Huizenga wasnt very successful at winning either until he hired an experienced Bill Parcells.

[Shula 73]

Viper, that 3rd rd rookie may be the best in a QB rich draft. And Ross incorrectly thought he could sign Flynn for peanuts.

[Dolfan Rick]

Parcells was done by the time we got him. He took Huizenga's 14 milion and rode off into the sunset leaving us pile of crap.

[Shula 73]

Rick, Parcells engineered the biggest turnaround ever taking us from 1-15 to 11-5 in one year. He knew what he was doing and thats worth 14 mill or more IMO.

[Vern Den Herder]

I've decided there's a sure way to seperate the truly stupid on this board from the merely clueless.

The merely clueless are theones posting about their 'expertise' in assssing players, coaches, etc. and pepper their writing with phrases they parrot from the talking heads on ESPN n an attempt to sound more informed. They'll actually use phrases like 'field awareness' or 'hip pivot' as if they really have ANY clue about these guys.

Laughable and delusional, but harmless.

Now, the TRULY stupid ones are those drooling Neanderthals who keep mentioning the impending logo change as somehow having ANYTHING to do with the football side of things. As if Ross and the entire front office is just neglecting the team entirely as they study new designs. It's ludicrous, of course, but they actually seem to believe this.

I'm guessing thse are the same people who think the Earth is 6000-years-old and Bon Jovi was the apex of rock.

SO staggeringly dumb.

[Viper]

Meanwhile, Flynn has done nothing to show he was worth it. Nothing. He is an overpaid bench warmer. Until 7th round weak armed Flynn actually starts and takes a team to the playoffs, there is no discussion.

[Dolfan Rick]

Shula,C'mon dude. He admitted the roster was better than he thought it was when he got here and then jets gave him a gift in Pennington.

He didn't finish the job he started. If he did we wouldn't have tanked the very next seaason.

He was good in his day. Obviously better on the sidelines than in the front office. He was persuaded to take the Dolphin job but his heart wasn't really in it.

It is what it is. We moved on but don't look back with rose colored glasses.

[Chad Everett]

Dolfan Rick, there are NINE CHEESES I would like you to sample over the next THREE days.

I command you to eat small portions of the following: GOUDA, PECORINO, MANCHEGO, MASCARPONE, and EDAM.

You may select your own cheeses for the other four but I must insist that at least one be a GOAT-produced cheese.

After you file your report on cheese here we can go to the Salon to have our hair and nails done.

[Dolfan Rick]

Chad, We can't get the pedicure done first? WTF. I heard those were awesome...

[Shula 73]

Hey I'm not a big Parcells fan. And I hated the way he treated JT. But he did get results. I think the one playoff game(home?) was worth more then 14 mill in profit to the franchise. And he did allow Huizenga to get top dollar for the team in the sale. So it was a win-win for Huizenga and Parcells. And look how the team has floundered since he left.

[mike]

Heat-Celtics going into OT.

[Dolfan Rick]

I guess people have a different way of looking at or remembering things.

The way I see it Parcells didn't complete the job he was hired to do and it's his hand picked protege and HC that floundered since he left.

[Chad Everett]

I have called Clarissa Van Doerning at the Salon and she has agreed to provide us with pedicures IF you bring along one GOAT-BASED CHEESE for her to sample. I assured her this would be done.

[Zonk]

Neither Sparano nor Philbin stood/stand a chance with Irescum as their GM.

[Dolfan Rick]

I guess your bringin the cheese Chris...er..i mean Chad.

[Question?]

Are most of the bloggers here really Zonkscum?

[Zonk]

Truth hurts?

[Question?]

Jeff Ireland has a much better job than Zonkscum and makes much more money.

So who is smarter than who?

[Phins78]

Craig do an examination of the wrs who have been brought in the past two years and you will see why we say Ireland can't evaluate receivers/TEs.

You keep saying that he hasn't picked one in the first round so how do we know? Is that what you're asking?

If so that's a silly argument imo. Of course if he's picking 12 and a wr hasn't been taken yet the guy is probably the best in the draft at the position so how could he miss? Any of us could make that pick.

We're talking about every other round AND free agency. In two years he has not found one wr/te ANYWHERE in college OR the NFL. I listed every wr that has been with the team the past two seasons. I don't remember the number but it was a lot. The only one left that Jeff had a hand in getting is Marlon Moore, a lifetime special teams player. From last years draft and free agency he has Matthews who is big and slow and Egnew who is a ghost. Binns? A waiver wire pickup in week 13 is Jeff Irelands best pick up this season. Sorry man, that's pathetic.

And Bess/Hartline are Parcells era picks so they don't count. Here's a question. You keep asking us that same thing, I've already listed my facts and proof that he seems unable to evaluate guys who catch the ball. Now it's your turn.

Point out the talent Jeff has found in the past two or three years at those positions. And no excuses. If I hear 'well he was stacking up on other players and didn't have a chance' when we've seen over a dozen receivers come and go in that time it won't hold water.

[Who would want to respond to this jerk?]

Got to go. Thank you blog for allowing me to leave my droppings. Feel free to breathe in the aroma.

Posted by: Phins78 | January 26, 2013 at 12:44 PM

[Phins78]

I'm not interested in you. I've told you this a million times. Hit on someone else, I'm married and like women. Good luck to you.

[Phins78]

Craig when you see my post let me know what you think. I'll check back later.

Unrelated note to blog jacka%$.
Fool, I'm only speaking to 5 regulars in here unless others show up to talk football. If you are not one of them you will not get a conversation from me. You can try as hard as you want to get me going but you will be wasting your time. And since there is no one worth talking to and no football related posts being written I'm leaving so I can enjoy other endeavors. Have a blast wasting your entire life in here, I won't be helping to make you feel important any longer, I have better things to do.

[Huh?]

Fool, I'm only speaking to 5 regulars in here unless others show up to talk football.

Posted by: Phins78 | January 27, 2013 at 04:25 PM
------------------------------

Well then tell us how your post below is about football:

Got to go. Thank you blog for allowing me to leave my droppings. Feel free to breathe in the aroma.

Posted by: Phins78 | January 26, 2013 at 12:44 PM

[Question?]

Has Zonkscum come to realize his parents wished he became as successful as Jeff Ireland instead of becoming a low wage nothing?

[BOBBY]

I PUT A PIECE OF TAPE ON KITTYCAT'S TAIL, AND HE IS GOING BONKERS! HA HA FUNNY KITTY!

[Bye Mr. Long]

. Citing people who have spoken to the Dolphins’ front office, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports Long is believed to be seeking “at least $10 million a year” and the Fins are “pessimistic” about their chances of retaining him.

[Craig M]

Phins78,

I asked earlier, 'who are the COLOSSAL misses at WR that Ireland has had'? I'm interested in seeing that list. Would we agree that Santonio Holmes at $9 million a year, on a long term contract and a cancer in the locker room is a colossal miss?

He brought Marshall in. Not sure what you think of him but he thought enough of him to trade for him. I'm not a Marshall fan but I'll concede that he does have some talent. Hartline in the 4th was a very good pickup. Outside of that we have nothing to judge becuase he hasn't focussed his attention on this position high enough in the draft. So I think we have an 'undecided' if he can evaluate this position or not.

What I will say is, if he comes out of this offseason with at the VERY minimum a long term answer at WR, he's failed. It's got to be a guy who good for at least 3-5 years. I actually believe there are no slam dunks at 12, at any of the positions. If he takes WR this year at 12 and the guy turns out to be a bust, I'll concede he can't evaluate WRs. If he missed on a superstar at 12 to play WR and ends up with some mediocre guy in the 2nd round or later, I'll concede he can't evaluate the position. Fair?

[Nj]

All of our free agents are expendable except maybe Brian Hartline