Speaking at a Boys’ Scouts Breakfast in Denver on Tuesday, former Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey said the team has been underpaying cornerback Chris Harris for a while.
“I think it goes without saying that he’s been underpaid for a while now,” Bailey said, according to The Athletic’s Nicki Jhabvala. “And they know that. They know they have a bargain . . . . They want cheap labor, and if you’re going to get it, you’re going to try to get it the best way you can.
“That’s from a team’s perspective. But from Chris’s perspective, you gotta get what you deserve before it’s too late.”
Harris, 29, is entering the final season of a five-year, $42.5 million contract. He earns an average of $8.5 million per season, which is a bargain compared to contracts of other top cornerbacks in the league.
A total of 23 cornerbacks earn an average of more than $8.5 million per year, including newly signed Denver cornerback Kareem Jackson ($11 million). Harris has been holding out from the team’s offseason workouts in hopes of a contract extension (his current deal expires about the 2019 season).
There certainly aren’t 20-plus cornerbacks that are better than Harris, though they are paid more than him.
Bailey believes Harris deserves an extension — and a raise.
