Baltimore Ravens owners Steve Bisciotti reveals shock by just how much the New York Jets paid to snag Pro Bowler C.J. Mosley.
C.J. Mosley’s former boss is surprised to see the inside linebacker market explode in the NFL.
Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti expressed his shock over the money the New York Jets paid their new defensive quarterback.
“We were a little disheartened that we found the number for inside linebackers was indeed going through the roof,” Biscotti said, per Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. “I don’t want to say that it caught us flat-footed. But the numbers, it was a shocking number and something that C.J. deserves. I think the world of him, but I would not have wanted to put a franchise tag on him and then hold him here if we weren’t planning on offering that kind of money. When we got wind that it was going to be that high, we thought the right thing to do was to let him sign there with the Jets.”
Mosley, 26 (turning 27 in June), signed a five-year, $85 million contract with the Jets this past offseason. An incredible $51 million of the dough is guaranteed.
Of course, Mosley spent his first five seasons in the NFL in Baltimore. He arrived on the scene the year after the Ravens Super Bowl triumph in 2013.
His average salary of $17 million a campaign clears the second-highest paid inside linebacker in the league by a cool 3.5 million (San Francisco 49ers’ Kwon Alexander). Carolina Panthers stud Luke Kuechly ranks third with an average of $12.3 million.
No matter what you think of C.J. Mosley, Steve Bisciotti’s shock over the incredible inside linebacker bump is definitely warranted. The money is far beyond simply beating the highest-paid guy in the league. The New York Jets went above and beyond to snag their newest defensive quarterback.
