We don’t know -- and won’t know -- what the Colin Kaepernick deal is actually worth until the contract is filed and inevitably leaked.
Waiting patiently, or otherwise, for the information will be the other young quarterbacks who either are or will be eligible for new contracts.
Currently, Panthers quarterback Cam Newton and Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton can get new deals. If Kaepernick and his 23 regular-season starts deserves top-of-market money, what’s Newton and his 48 regular-season starts worth? How about Dalton and his 48 starts and three straight playoff appearances?
Newton has been patient, and he has said that he won’t hold out to get a new contract. How will Newton feel once he sees precisely how much a guy taken more than a full round after Newton in the 2011 draft was paid?
Also in the pipeline for extensions after 2014 are Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, and Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III. Kaepernick’s deal will be relevant to their eventual negotiations, too.
Especially since Wilson has a Super Bowl win.
Again, it won’t matter until we know precisely what Kaepernick’s deal is worth. Once we do, it’ll be much easier to figure out what it means for all other young franchise and would-be franchise quarterbacks.