As much as we get interested in watching individual teams, there is always plenty of interest in watching how the players within them succeed. One of the players who will be most under the spotlight in 2018 is Jimmy Garoppolo. One of the biggest reasons for that is the $135.5 million, five-year contract that he signed, which immediately puts a huge amount of pressure on him.
Will the Garoppolo Gamble Pay Off?
Garoppolo will need to use all the experience he learned from Tom Brady in order to deal with the expectations and pressure that come with the role. So too will he need to be at the top of his game, to honor the shortening odds on Oddschecker for the 49ers to win the Super Bowl. Quite simply, the 49ers have rolled the dice and decided to put it all on a relatively untested quarterback, who has only made five starts for the team.
There is no doubt that those starts were impressive, but many a player has had a good start to their career only to fade away. Many have shown initial promise only to crumble under the weight of expectation. The big question, as to whether the 49ers quarterback will prevail or fail, is part of what makes his upcoming season so fascinating.
There is that hope that the 49ers will be getting a quarterback that will lead them into a new era of superiority. The 49ers have languished in the shadows of others for too long, making the need for a star quarterback ever more nagging as the years of despair floated by. Naturally, winning their division is going to be a tough ask for them this season, due to the impressive form of the Los Angeles Rams.
In his five games for the 49ers, Garoppolo has had six touchdowns but also threw for five interceptions. He also had some easy games in that sequence, most notably against a struggling Texans defense, as well as a Rams team that had several key players on rest. Regardless, his performances were clearly too good to ignore.
The 49ers coaching staff and hierarchy will naturally be very nervous when it comes to the start of the season. They have gone all-in on what they think is a strong hand and they are currently waiting to see what proverbial cards the opposition will produce. As ever, only time will tell if this decision is a good one for the 49ers.
Damned If They Do…
At a personal level, Garoppolo built himself up into a strong negotiating position, which forced the hand of the powers at 49ers HQ. Not giving him a contract could have been seen as an equally big gamble, as they’d risk losing out on a player who could be very special indeed. Often, the greatest fairytales are sourced by risk, especially when it seems as though there is nothing to lose.
Of course, very few people would currently rank him in the top 10 of the league’s quarterbacks, and he has a long way to go if he wants to be considered among the elite. The 49ers have undoubtedly given him a contract befitting of an ‘elite’ player, which sees him getting paid more than the likes of Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, and Matt Ryan. Of course, a lot of that comes down to age, and existing contracts, but again it shows the sheer level of faith the 49ers have invested in their quarterback.
Garoppolo needs to repay that faith and do it quickly. He won’t be given the same amount of time that a rookie would; he’ll be expected to perform and perform immediately. There’ll be many lesser-paid quarterbacks out there looking to prove that they are better than him and plenty of defensive linemen who will be wanting to unsettle him.
By signing that contract, Garoppolo made himself one of the richest men in American professional sports, but he also put a huge amount of pressure on himself. He has been given elite money and now he needs to go out there and prove that he’s worth it. Either way, it’ll be a fascinating development to watch.
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
