Detroit Lions: 5 most underpaid players on the roster
By Zack Moran
Golden Tate
If you look up underpaid in the dictionary, you will see Tate’s picture. For the past four seasons, Tate has been the most reliable receiver the Lions have had. He has recorded at least 90 catches each year and at least 1000 yards except for one.
Tate’s ability to break tackles and rack up yards after the catch is best in the league. At the time, the majority of people thought the Lions overpaid when he signed with Detroit. Looking back the Lions got one heck of a deal for the him.
Tate will be playing out the final year of his contract this year. His cap hit is $9,351,250 this year ranking him fourth on the Lions and 18th among receivers in the league per Sportac.com. He was also the Lions’ sixth-best player per PFR. If you look at Tate’s production compared to some the players like Donte Moncrief that are above him it is not even close.
Even at the average salary, he ranked even further down in the list at 36th per Spotrac.com. Here are the players right where Tate sits; Marquise Goodwin, Allen Hurns, Danny Amendola. Its an understatement on how severely Tate is underpaid.
This is Tate’s last year on his contract and he has already expressed he wants to get paid. This might be his last year in Detroit. He knows this is probably his last big contract because he is getting up there in age. If the Lions can make a reasonable offer on a 3-year deal, I think he will stay.
Unfortunately, there are more teams with higher cap space that could potentially outbid Detroit. The impact Tate brings, teams will be willing to pay him more than what the Lions might offer. With his time in Detroit, he has been a bargain and a great asset to the Lions organization.
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Glasgow, Zettel, and Decker have outplayed their rookie contracts and bring value in key positions for the Lions. Slay and Tate is tops in the league at the talent in their respective positions. For what the Lions are paying compared to some other teams in their positions, most will have to consider they are underpaid. Hopefully, we can lock up some the players before they hit free agency and keep them in Detroit on a team friendly deal.