In a recent article written by Bleacher Report’s
Linebacker Kwon Alexander has been a stellar starter throughout his three-year tenure with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and he appears to be on the rise. The 23-year-old pick recorded a career-high three picks despite missing four games in 2017, which helped him land in his first Pro Bowl.
Per PFR, only hotshots Jameis Winston and Gerald McCoy were more valuable to the Bucs in 2017.
But because Alexander was a mere fourth-round pick in 2015, his rookie contract is costing the team only $689,581 a year. That’ll change when said contract expires in 2019, but for now he’s just the 45th-highest-paid player on the Tampa Bay roster.
Kwon “Showtime” Alexander, has been a dominant force in the middle of the defense, since being drafted in the 4th round by Tampa in 2015.
The Louisiana State University product has either lead Tampa’s defense in Tackles and interceptions, or he has been a close second in the tackles category since his rookie season.
He was also, a 2017 Pro Bowler and selected in 2015 as a member of the Pro Football Writers Association All-Rookie Team.
His outstanding production has not gone unnoticed, however, it seems that his pay is not fitting his play. Although he is in the 4th season of his rookie contract and had earned a bump in money as Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times stated in his article, from back in January, Playing time earns Bucs’ Kwon Alexander a nice raise for 2018, Kwon could be earning close to $1.9 Million instead of the standard $705 k, due to the NFL’s Proven Performance Escalator.
My Questions are: Do the Bucs give Alexander a similar, but slightly less, contract extension to the one Lavonte David received in 2015, (<ball park figure> 5-years $40m), or will he fall through the cracks? Also, how will the up and coming star Kendell Beckwith play into all of this? I would not want to be at the table when all of this comes to a head.
There is no doubt in my mind that Tampa is thoroughly impressed by Kwon Alexander’s play and will likely do whatever they can to keep the young man on the team. However, will they be able to fork over the money he is worth in 2019? There are a few contracts coming up for review, in the next season or two, and one that will be extremely pricey is that of Jameis Winston, which could ultimately affect Kwon’s payday.
