Even at 31, Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald is one of the best at his position in the NFL. Any team would love to have him… except at $23.6 million for a season.
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That’s what Fitzgerald is scheduled to make from Arizona next year, but anyone that understands how football teams operate should know he’s never going to see that money.
Even Fitzgerald understands that, as he told Darren Urban of azcardinals.com.
"General Manager Steve Keim and team president Michael Bidwill have said multiple times they want Fitzgerald to be with the Cardinals for his entire career. Fitzgerald too has said he would like to stay. But business is business, and something – or someone – will have to give before Fitzgerald’s schedule $8 million roster bonus is due in early March.“The cap number is what the cap number is,” Fitzgerald said. “I could go out this year and get 2,600 yards and that cap number is still going to have to be addressed, know what I mean? It doesn’t matter how well I play or how bad I play, it’s going to be addressed. I don’t even think about it.”"
Fitzgerald is pretty spot-on here. There’s really nothing he can do this season that could lead to the Cardinals agreeing to pay that amount.
But this is still an important year for Fitzgerald to prove that he is worth a team, Arizona or somebody else, paying him big dollars to catch passes in 2015.
Fitzgerald caught 92 passes for 954 yards and 10 touchdowns last season.