Super Bowl Domination

Chapter 116 The difference between cloud and mud
Jackson left the library in a rage, stood at the door, and took deep breaths of fresh air, but he still couldn't calm down.

Ah!
Finally, he couldn't help but howled to the sky.

Ahhhhh!
He roared several times in succession, clenched his fists and exerted all his strength, and the turbidity and heat that had been accumulating in his chest were finally released, and only then was he able to breathe a little.

But, it’s still not enough——

Ah!
With another shout, all the birds on the treetops were scared away. The students who were coming in and out also consciously took detours to create some space. They looked at the school football team's brightest star quarterback with horror and confusion on their faces. He had turned into a wild beast. Was he roaring at the sun?
Unconsciously, a vacuum zone formed around Jackson, but he really didn't have the mind to care about these gazes at this moment.

He wanted to be quiet.

Jackson simply sat down on the steps, lowered his head, and thought seriously: How did things develop to this point?

Running back. Running back? Running back!

Jackson still couldn't believe it, "Huh, running back?"

In fact, Jackson cannot be blamed for being arrogant, because this is the reality.

Looking at the salaries of the 2023 NFL teams in , we will not discuss the top superstars here, because once they enter the truly top ranks, their salary structure cannot be viewed with ordinary eyes, and it is difficult to accurately assess the exact market value of different positions on the football team.

Here, looking at the average salary of all players, we can evaluate the league's overall value judgment on offense, defense, and different positions.

Of all the players, the one with the highest average salary...is not the quarterback, but the offensive left tackle, the gate guarding the quarterback's blind side.

Perhaps, in terms of top superstars and highest salaries, quarterbacks definitely win the first place, but in terms of average salary, offensive left tackle is the most expensive position, with an average annual salary of $8.19 million.

Second is the quarterback, with an average annual salary of $6.11 million.

The one at the bottom is undoubtedly from the special team, the ball handler, that is, the player in the special team who is responsible for holding the ball and waiting for the kicker to come and kick the ball.

Never underestimate this position. In the history of rugby, there are more than one classic games in which the winning goal was ruined due to mistakes made by the holder.

The average annual salary for a ball handler is $10.9 million.

Overall, the average annual salary for the offensive team is $3.46 million, the average annual salary for the defensive team is $3.08 million, and the average annual salary for the special team is $1.76 million.

Obviously, NFL teams still invest more money in the offense.

The focus is further on the offensive group.

Among all the positions in the offensive team, only three positions have an average annual salary of less than three million: running back, tight end, and offensive guard.

In the past few years, the average annual salary of tight ends was at the bottom of the offensive group, but in the past two years, the emergence of Jimmy Graham of the New Orleans Saints and Rob Gronkowski of the New England Patriots has changed the situation and the average annual salary of tight ends has risen rapidly.

Now, running back is the lowest paid position on offense, with an average of only $2.1 million.

Once upon a time, until the 1980s, running backs were still the players with the second highest average salary in the entire football team, second only to the quarterback. But now it has come to this position, which makes people sigh that in the face of the changing tide of the times, all power is insignificant and no one can stop it.

This is the reality——

One is a running back, a weed, weathering the elements and enduring hardships.

One is the quarterback, a treasure that you hold in your hands for fear of breaking or melting in your mouth. Even the high average salary of offensive tackles is to protect this treasure. There is a world of difference between the two.

No matter how Jackson thought about it, he still couldn't understand the reason for comparing them together. Why did that guy suddenly stand up?
In Jackson's view, football is often a game that relies on the quarterback to decide the outcome, and the other players are all foils and the protagonists.

At least, that's the case with the Louisville Cardinals.

Naturally, Jackson's target is the quarterbacks of other teams. Watson, Darnold, Mayfield and others are his opponents. Whether it is the Heisman Trophy or the National Championship, they are the enemies he needs to defeat.

And the running back?
It's the quarterback's business, why is the running back coming in to join in the fun?

As for the Crimson Tide, their quarterback Hurts is a barely grown high school student, and they rely entirely on defense to win. The so-called offensive points are all based on the premise that the defensive team has suppressed the opponent.

The game against the Louisville State Tigers was no exception. If the Crimson Tide defense hadn't shut out the opponent's weak offense in the first half, the game would have been ruined long ago, and there would have been no running back to turn the tide.

In Jackson's view, even if the Louisville Cardinals and the Alabama Crimson Tide face off, the highlight should be him against that defense, and no matter how many turns it takes, it will not be the turn of a mere running back to steal the spotlight.

however!
The media just wouldn't let him go——

Levi, Levi, Levi, it never ends.

Now, just as the Louisville Cardinals lost and the Alabama Crimson Tide won, Levi's prospects became even better. He surpassed Watson and climbed to second place in the Heisman Trophy odds list, and narrowed the gap with Jackson. The difference between the three is not much.

The pressure came all of a sudden.

Whether Jackson likes it or not, the hot topic in the NCAA now is "Jackson vs. Watson vs. Levi", and it will continue.

"Levi doesn't take Lamar Jackson seriously. Wait until the Louisville Cardinals make it to the national championship game."

Thinking back to this sentence again, Jackson felt furious:

He never took Levi seriously, okay? He was the first to say this, when did it become Levi's turn to show off?

The rage was burning to the extreme, but Jackson managed to grasp a glimmer of rationality.

Okay, since they like to watch the fun, then he will prove them wrong. As long as they beat the Alabama Crimson Tide in the national championship game, all the voices can be shut up, right?

Originally, Jackson was looking forward to defeating Watson in the National Championship Game, not only to avenge his defeat in the regular season, but also to prove that he was the most talented running back this year; but now, Levi has officially surpassed Watson and become the target that Jackson must defeat in the National Championship Game.

When the result of the game comes out, that guy's expression will definitely be very funny. He will definitely enjoy that moment and imprint that guy's expression firmly in his mind. Then he will see if that guy can still be stubborn. He will stuff all the trash talk into that guy's mouth.

Just imagining the scene, Jackson couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Coincidentally, the Louisville Cardinals' next opponent is the school's historic rival, the Kentucky Wildcats.

If there is a road to heaven, you will not take it; if there is no door to hell, you will come here instead.

Sorry, Kentucky Wildcat, he just has a lot of anger that he can't vent, so he might as well practice his skills first, crush him, ravage him, and rub him again.

(End of this chapter)