Former Giants O-Lineman Lauds How Eagles Do Business

Justin Pugh had a chance to sign with the Eagles last season but stayed loyal to the New York Giants.

Nov 8, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; New York Giants offensive guard Justin Pugh (67) during the second half at Raymond James Stadium. New York Giants defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 32-18. / Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

PHILADELPHIA - The recent Sunday Ticket lawsuit in which the NFL will be on the hook for billions if and/or when the appeals process is exhausted is the kind of thing the average NFL fan isn’t going to be all that concerned with, especially with the 2024 season looming. 

The lawsuit and the current offseason edition of “Hard Knocks,” which has been following the New York Giants and that team’s decision to let the one-time face of their franchise Saquon Barkley defect to the division-rival Eagles have been generating headlines over the past week.

Ones that often paint Giants GM Joe Schoen in a poor light, especially when compared with his counterpart with the Eagles, the highly-regarded Howie Roseman.

Offensive lineman Justin Pugh, a 2013 Giants first-round pick who grew up in Holland, PA as an Eagles fan, has been one of the more astute pundits when it comes to the show, explaining the obvious but often ignored sentiment that all situations aren’t created equally in the NFL.

“It’s unfair to compare the way the Giants spend vs Eagles,” Pugh wrote on X.com.

Giants Hard Knocks

It’s unfair to compare the way the @Giants spend vs @Eagles. The Eagles take on more risk by front loading cash and spreading out signing bonus. They’ve hit on those players and it’s worked out but….

This Sunday Ticket lawsuit could negatively impact the…

— Justin Pugh (@JustinPugh) July 3, 2024

The veteran, who returned for his 11th NFL season as an emergency signing for the Giants last season, skipped over the status of the two organizations when it comes to competitiveness in 2024 and headed straight toward Sunday Ticket and overriding front-office philosophies tied to owners Jeffrey Lurie and the Mara family. 

“The Eagles take on more risk by front loading cash and spreading out signing bonus,” Pugh correctly explained. “They’ve hit on those players and it’s worked out but….This Sunday Ticket lawsuit could negatively impact the salary cap and it would hurt teams that spend like the Eagles and Browns.”

Pugh is again correct in a sense that the Eagles lean on a proactive owner’s willingness to take financial risks in an environment where the NFL’s financial heft seems as strong as ever.

The Giants and most other teams are more conservative and cognizant of potetential rainy days like the COVID-19 short-term impact on the cap and say a potential lawsuit settlement that will reach well over $10 billion down the road if nothing changes.  

“[The Eagles] rely heavily on the cap increasing every year,” Pugh noted. “We will see how it plays out.”

Even a $10-plus billion hit down the road will be short term for this league, though, so Lurie and the Eagles seem to be the ones ahead of the game when it comes to the decision making.

The much-discussed decision to sign Barkley to a three-year, $37.75 million contract may not work from a football perspective. From a financial one it would be a blip on the radar even if Barkley contributes little.

“They get around the accounting aspect [by] adding extra years,” Pugh astutely noted. “Once they get into those heavy cap hit years they renegotiate and add more years. It’s a great strategy to be honest. The owner has to sign off because they have to go cash heavy initially.”

Pugh, meanwhile, also dropped an interesting note by explaining he could have signed with the Eagles last season as the potential short-term replacement for Cam Jurgens, who missed five games early in the season with a foot injury.  

“I grew up an Eagles fan,” Pugh noted before pledging loyalty to the team that drafted him. “I wish they’d lose every game. The issue is I’m also a fan of good business and [Roseman] is freaking good. I put my body on the line for the Giants last year. And I’ll do it again this year if the opportunity presented itself. 

“I could’ve signed with the Eagles last year and I [chose] not to. They were 7-0 at the time too.”

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