Green Bay Packers: Has Blake Martinez earned a contract extension?
By Hunter Noll
The Green Bay Packers have two more cheap seasons of Blake Martinez. An extension now could save them a lot of money in the future though.
Blake Martinez is under contract with the Green Bay Packers for two more season. In 2018 he’s set to make $630,000. Then he’ll be paid $720,000 for the 2019 season. That’s a bargain for any linebacker. For a 24-year old that led the NFL in tackles though, that’s a crime.
I’m not saying pay him right now just because he deserves it. Sure, in a perfect world, everyone would get paid exactly what they deserve in the NFL and there could be no complaints. This isn’t a perfect world though. After all, Mike Glennon made $18 million last season. I am saying, however, that signing Martinez to a contract extension now makes fiscal sense for the future.
As I said above, Martinez is still just 24. He followed up a strong rookie season with an incredible sophomore campaign. That included leading the NFL in tackles (144) and picking up eight pass deflections. He’s rapidly improving and still has plenty of room to grow. The potential is scary.
That’s great news for the Packers, but bad news for their wallets.
By the time Martinez’s contract expires, signs are pointing to him being a legitimate superstar at the position. That’s going to cost a whole bunch of dollar signs if Green Bay wants to lock him up then.
If they decide to do it now, he won’t exactly be cheap, but Martinez will be heavily discounted compared to two years from now. Even with the price going up for the next two years, the deal should be much more team friendly now as opposed to if they wait it out.
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There are a lot of positions that the Green Bay Packers will be looking to improve upon in the future. A lot of those are on the defensive side of the ball. However, it’s hard to build a defense if the pieces to build around aren’t set in place.
Blake Martinez is the perfect piece to build around. Lock him up now so you aren’t worried about it in the near future.