Blake Bortles is getting paid.
This is a great thing for a deserving young man. The Jacksonville Jaguars are a bunch of nitwits.
Hop and one side of the fence and banter away folks. Plenty of room on both sides on the contentious internet thingy.
Scream away all you want, but one thing is certain: The Jaguars are committed to Bortles big time after signing him to a deal $54 million and could escalate up to $66.5 million with incentives. The deal also includes about $26.5 million in guaranteed money.
The deal announced Saturday completes one of the best comeback stories in recent NFL seasons. Just a few months ago during the exhibition season, Bortles was sharing reps with journeyman lifer Chad Henne, the convenient Band-Aid when your starting quarterback stinks.
"I'm looking for someone who is going to lead this offense," Jaguars coach Doug Marrone said back in August after Bortles' played badly against the Tampa Bay Bucs. "I'm not happy with the performance. I'm not going to sit here and b.s. anyone."
Fast-forward to late February:
"First off, I want to say congratulations to Blake and his family," Marrone said after giving Bortles the vote of confidence that comes with a big check.
So what happened?
Bortles has proven he can rise up above his 'game-manager' role and throw the rock around a little bit. And chances are the Jaguars would have defeated the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game if offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett had not gone into a conservative cocoon with a second half lead.
Color me surprised, kinda.
I figured the Jags would essentially take a one-year flyer on Bortles, kicking the can on his potential to become the team's franchise quarterback by paying him the $19.1 million dollars he was due if he was still on the roster on March 14 (the first day of the 2018 NFL calendar year).
Instead, the Jags tripled down on Bortles, immediately ending the speculation about Kirk Cousins, Eli Manning or any other NFL arm is up for hire in Jacksonville
At 25, Bortles has that thing they call "upside," already with 61 starts in 62 games since driving up from UCF in Orlando in 2014 as the third pick in the NFL draft. He also has a stout defense and two wise souls in Tom Coughlin, executive vice president of football operations, and Marrone.
They know a lot more about football than you and me and every guy on the Internet screaming at their computer that Bortles isn't worth the risk.
So sorry not sorry to the folks who sarcastically tag Bortles with #goatles on the Internet, or post memes of crying Michael Jordan, reacting to the news.
"It is a dream come true," Bortles said Saturday. "I said earlier, my goal from the start � everyone dreams of making $100 million dollars or the quarterbacks are expected to sign the big deal and that was never something that was very important to me.
"Signing this second deal with the team that drafted me was my goal from the beginning. It has been done, and I am excited and thrilled and proud of myself for being able to do that. There is obviously a lot of work and things that need to go on."
Blake Bortles, the prince of perseverance, just got paid everybody.
