So who’s right and who’s wrong in the Ryan Fitzpatrick situation? Everyone.
Assessing the impasse hinges largely on perspective. From either perspective, the situation does, and doesn’t, make sense.
From the team’s perspective, the willingness to pay $24 million over three years seems more than reasonable because no one else is offering Fitzpatrick anything close to that amount -- even after the May 12 deadline came and went, removing the transaction from the compensatory draft-pick formula. Thus, Fitzpatrick’s market value necessarily is much lower than $24 million over three years.
From the player’s perspective, starting quarterbacks not constrained by rookie deals make more than $8 million per year. The market, then, is higher than what the Jets have offered, especially since the Jets have no other clear and obvious options at the position. The mere fact that the Jets already are offering Fitzpatrick more than anyone else means that the Jets already have conceded that Fitzpatrick means more to them than he does to anyone else.
So Fitzpatrick, relative to his market, is being greedy. Relative to the starting quarterback market (and taking into account the team’s lack of a clear starter), Fitzpatrick is being lowballed. Both are right, and both are wrong.
Which means that the right answer resides somewhere in the middle. The sooner both sides realize this, the sooner they can get on with the business of getting ready for the season.