There are many good quarterbacks in the NFL who throw for thousands of yards, create massive offensive numbers, and make quite a lot of money. Matthew Stafford is just one, but he is on the worst team of the bunch. His Detroit lions have had very little success in his tenure, and the Lions must decide how long they want to keep paying for his services. He is reaching the magic age of 30 where NFL players either break down or play for another decade. The question about paying Stafford comes down to what the Lions want as an organization for the future.
They owe him a lot of money
Stafford will make hundreds of millions of dollars from the Lions over his tenure, and they will be on the hook for many millions more if they choose to stay with him. The market for the starting quarterback is steep because of the NFL's salary cap, and there are players in the league making comparable money. Stafford has the talent to warrant a massive new contract, and the Lions are likely to pay him because they are afraid, as every team is, of not having a quarterback.
They need someone
Every team in the NFL needs a quarterback, and many of them would kill to have someone like this on their roster. They need someone with skill who will be the face of the franchise, and they want to have a leader who will galvanize their team.
Stafford is that kind of player, but he is not able to get the team to the promised land. They rarely make the playoffs, and they have lost all their games in a season in the past. This team is by far one of the worst in all of professional sports, but they have an amazing quarterback.
Look at the Browns
The Browns are a team that does not have a quarterback, and they have suffered without one for such a long time that it is hard to remember when they last felt stable at that position.
The Saints were dead in the water for years before they got Drew Brees, and the Falcons have flourished with Matt Ryan. The Bucs are on the way up with Jameis Winston, and the Lions still have Stafford. They would lose all their hope if they did not have someone to call signals, and they would start their franchise completely over as a result.
The Detroit Lions are right to be scared of paying for someone who has hardly gotten them to the playoffs, but they are wrong to give up the biggest commodity in the NFL. They could trade their starter for a boatload of picks, but they cannot guarantee that they will get a QB back in return. Paying Stafford is tricky business.
