Chase Daniel, Chicago Bears. (Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images)
Chase Daniel’s ability to cash in for holding a clipboard is an art form.
Chase Daniel has perfected the art of getting paid to play very little.
Daniel may be one of the most celebrated quarterbacks in the history of the Missouri Tigers, but he’s averaged half a start per year in his 10 NFL seasons. When it comes to getting paid seven figures to hold a clipboard and help an offensive coordinator coach from the sidelines, Daniel is the most elite backup quarterback in this department on earth.
His compensation for not playing in games is getting out of hand. Bleacher Report’s Adam Lefkoe tweeted out an interesting fact as it relates to Daniel’s bottom line and that of former No. 1 picks Jameis Winston and Cam Newton. “Chase Daniel is being paid more than Jameis Winston and Cam Newton COMBINED.”
Wait, what? Are you flipping serious? Daniel just inked a three-year deal worth over $13 million to watch Matthew Stafford play quarterback for the Detroit Lions from the sidelines. That doesn’t feel right. He previously signed contracts worth $10 million with the Chicago Bears, $21 million with the Philadelphia Eagles and a $10 million deal with the Kansas City Chiefs.
All told, Daniel has made $34.3 million in his career, according to Spotrac. In 10 NFL seasons, Daniel has played in 65 games, made five starts and has gone 2-3 in those five starts.
Chase Daniel is the most overcompensated backup quarterback of all time.
When Sam Bradford signed a record deal as the No. 1 pick out of Oklahoma, he actually had to play in NFL games when he wasn’t getting hurt for the St. Louis Rams. Daniel has watched Drew Brees, Alex Smith and Mitchell Trubisky as an expensive insurance policy.
He has completed 68.3 percent of his passes for 1,430 yards, seven touchdowns and five interceptions. The bulk of his stats have come in the last two years playing for the Bears.
While it would be easy to hate on the Lions for grossly overpaying for Daniel as a backup, let’s not pile on the Lions too much here. They do dumb stuff all the time. It’s in their DNA as the worst-run football franchise in the NFC by a country mile. It’s why they’ve won one playoff game in the Super Bowl era.
What is frustrating is proven starters like Newton and Winston had to sign deals for pennies on the dollar of their intrinsic value. Are Newton and Winston top-10 quarterbacks in the league? No, but they should be making less than a mid-tier backup in the league. Winston will backup Brees in New Orleans, while Newton will compete for the New England Patriots’ starting job in 2020.
Nobody gets paid more per snap than Daniel, thanks to his mastery of cashing them checks.