Wednesday, July 23, 2008

How much does it cost for a little Booty?


From the moment John David Booty grabbed the reins of the Trojan offense, some began to question his worth. I was probably one of his biggest critics, feeling he was wrongly grouped with Palmer and Leinart, before ever taking the field. Booty never achieved the same awards or numbers as the two USC quarterbacks before him. And following the pattern, his first year NFL salary will fall short as well.

Though the full details of his new contract with the Minnesota Vikings are not available, Booty received the standard base contract of $295,000, which would escalate to $555,000 in the final year. He also received a signing bonus of $205,000. Those are nice figures for the average man, such as I, but a drop in the bucket in comparison to the millions of dollars in guaranteed money received by first round selections Palmer and Leinart.

Despite the difference in money, Booty actually finds himself in a great position with Minnesota. The offense being run by coach Brad Childress is geared towards a quarterback like J.D. His strength is the short passing game, making him the prototype player for the West Coast Offense. Where arm strength is the staple for some quarterbacks, for Booty it’s his laser accuracy that moves the sticks. Tavaris Jackson isn’t guaranteed the starting position, though he may take the field on opening day. But if his struggles continue, I doubt the Vikings would hesitate to make a change, after allowing Jackson more than enough time to make the position his own. If a quarterback battle ensues, I really like Booty’s chances.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

the vikes are cheap!!