Aaron Jones, Jamaal Williams and the Tale of Two Contracts

In today's NFL, great players will get paid great-player money. Everybody else? That's the takeaway on the free-agent deals for Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Contracts given to running backs Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams the past two days show, once again, that the NFL is a league of highly paid great players and everybody else.

Even with the salary cap down by $15.7 million compared to last year and most teams making tough choices to deal with that reality, Jones re-signed with the Green Bay Packers with a four-year deal worth up to $48 million on the eve of the unofficial start of free agency.

His sidekick from the past four seasons, Jamaal Williams, settled for a two-year deal worth up to $7.5 million with the rival Detroit Lions on the eve of the official start of free agency. It’s a contract so inexpensive that, based on this year’s numbers, it won’t even result in a compensatory draft pick next year.

The math is simple and the reality is obvious. At their max, Jones’ contract averages $12 million per season while Williams’ contract is worth $3.75 million per season.

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Teams, even in challenging financial circumstances, will always find ways to sign great players. Jones is a great player because he’s a threat to take it the distance every time he gets the ball. Williams is not.

For his career, Jones has 782 rushes and receptions. Of those, Jones had 33 plays of 20-plus yards, including 11 touchdowns. That’s a 20-yard play rate of 4.2 percent.

For his career, Williams has 622 touches. Williams had 10 plays of 20-plus yards, including two touchdowns. That’s 1.6 percent.

Limiting it strictly to running plays, Jones has 85 carries of 10-plus yards on his 651 attempts. That’s 13.1 percent. Williams has taken 38 of his 500 career carries for 10-plus yards. That’s 7.6 percent.

Williams, to be sure, is a terrific player, and the Lions got an excellent value because of his all-around skill-set. He’s a fearless runner, excellent pass protector and quality receiving threat. There’s nothing he doesn’t do at a winning level. He’s also Mr. Energy with an infectious personality. With all of that, he’ll be a major asset to the rebuilding Lions.

But big plays win games and Jones has been a big-play machine. Just look at the Week 2 game against Detroit. Playing 35 offensive snaps, Jones carried 18 times for 168 yards, caught four passes for 68 yards and scored three touchdowns. Keeping with the Detroit angle, the legendary Barry Sanders topped Jones’ 236-yard total just twice in his Hall of Fame career.

From Green Bay’s perspective, keeping Jones – despite the perils of second-contract running backs – made sense in the context of it reloading in hopes of finally getting back to the Super Bowl before Aaron Rodgers’ time is up. However, the Packers’ salary structure is incredibly top heavy. Pending any restructures to get beneath the cap by 3 p.m. Wednesday and without knowing Jones’ cap hit for 2021, Green Bay has $120.69 million worth of cap dollars invested in just eight players (Rodgers, Za’Darius Smith, Davante Adams, David Bakhtiari, Adrian Amos, Preston Smith, Billy Turner and Kenny Clark). That’s almost two-thirds of the cap on eight players, meaning the roster will have to be filled in with a lot of young, inexpensive talent. Who knows, maybe the corps of great players can carry the load. Maybe general manager Brian Gutekunst’s draft classes will provide a quality, budget-friendly supporting cast.

In the NFL, money means status. Jones is a great player and is being paid as such. Williams is a very good player but is being paid like just another running back. That’s life in today’s NFL, though. Great players are paid great-player money and everybody else is left with what’s left.