That's what these fun little debates boil down too. Luckily, Phil Emery gets to make that call either next offseason or (more likely) this one. Fortunately, we know from Dewskie that we can trust in Phil Emery because he has a long track record of success from his time with the perennially successful Chiefs. But you, too, can play Phil Emery. How much do you pay Jay Cutler in comparison to the benchmark?

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Fire Phil Emery

1. Peyton Manning, Broncos – $18,000,000
2. Michael Vick, Eagless – $12,500,000
3. Matt Ryan, Falcons – 11,500,000
4. Philip Rivers, Chargers – $10,200,000
5. Aaron Rodgers, Packers – 8,000,000
6. Jay Cutler, Broncos – 7,700,000
7. Joe Flacco, Ravens – 6,760,000
8. Josh Freeman, Buccaneers – 6,585,000
9. Sam Bradford, Rams – 6,000,000
10. Matt Hasselbeck, Titans – 5,500,000

He is already at 7.5 mil. Give him 10 per for 3 years, it will look like a bargain. Maybe he will lead them to consecutive playoff appearances and mix a win or two.

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CSFMB: Home of the small minded

Here is where we will see the genius of Cliff Stein and Phil Emery. Cutler is obviously a top 3 quarterback but they will sucker him into signing a top 7-3 range contract. The savings will be invested in re-upping mediocre draft picks.

I don't know how you can seriously consider giving Cutler an extension in the offseason. Can the Bears really invest the whole future of the franchise in him if they expect numbers like this? He's going to demand much more than he is worth.

Let him go in next year and prove that the offense with him can work. Then, threaten to franchise him and offer him a long term deal.

Jay Cutler turns 30 in April. Expecting him to be significantly better than this is just blind hope. Give him next year as one last chance to prove himself. Otherwise, let Arizona sign him and go young. The Bears defense will have lost a ton by then anyways and they can rebuild.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Cutler should not be the 6th highest paid, but there are others on that list that are more out of place than he is.

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That list seems really old. How is Drew Brees not on it?

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

I also think Cutler starts his demands at $13 million a year and refuses to even listen to anything less.

If Kevin Kolb almost gets that, he will want it. I would guess $15 million a year is what it takes to keep him.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

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CSFMB: Home of the small minded

It looks like that was just base salary.

This one is average salary.

http://www.spotrac.com/top-salaries/nfl/2013/average/quarterback/

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

I agree with everything you said here.

I'm scared.

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Who gave IB's account info to cgs?

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

Taking that list of average QB salaries, I would put him right about or below Bradford level at 12-13 mil. He is better than Stafford and Bradford. Romo should probably be getting paid more than Cutler. Let's say he is 7th highest QB.

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Cutler may not be a top 3 QB in his own division. The Bears would be fools to offer him an extension. Let him play it out and actually earn his pay day.

No one would give Cutler $15M a year and the Bears shouldn't either. At best he is worth $10M a year. What has he proven?

If you pay him more than $10M, you are paying for what you hope he can be with all the right ifs in place. If the o-line is improved, if a reliable, go-to second WR evolves, etc., then Cutler could lead you to a Super Bowl. I can agree with you if you are paying him simply on his current resume.

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If you get all those things you could pay Kyle Orton $2M to lead the Bears to a SB. What you're saying is everything has to be perfect around him. By the time the defense will be bad and that will be his new excuse. IIRC the Bears gave him a $30M 2 year extension when he got here. He hasn't earned it.

I don't know about Orton. I'm also not asking for perfection. You are right though, he hasn't earned it yet. I just want to see what he does with some improvements in the team in front of him.

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He's on one of the best teams in the NFL despite playing at a league average level. It's hard to ask for a better team around him as a fan.

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Where is Eli? Brady? Brees?

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Cutler is around the 14-16th best QB so whatever that comes out to...I do not want to see a new deal with him..too injury prone, too many ints.

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What had Kevin Kolb proven?

Some team is going to convince themselves that they are a Jay Cutler away from the Super Bowl. The only good thing for the Bears is they have the franchise tag to help limit this. However, that's going to be an expensive franchise tag.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Good play or bad play set aside, you can't think about giving him an extension at all yet simply because of the concussion issues he's had. Who knows how his brain will be affected long term by the shots he's taken in college and the pros. Gotta make sure its as safe as it can be for him to continue to go out there and play on a weekly basis.

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We are 7-2! Why worry about that?

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

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You're an ass

Which is why Jeff George had multiple chances even after most teams realized he was a bad idea.

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Frank, isn't Cutler really the quarterback version of Gavin Floyd?

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Guys like Cassel and Kolb got paid because they were young and showed potential in a couple of games. Similar to what Matt Flynn did last season. Cutler will be in his 30's when his contract expires and there's plenty of tape on him. He's only been to the playoffs once and he's only won 1 playoff game. He would be considered a reclamation project. You don't pay reclamation projects $15M a season. Unless he manages to lead this team to a SB victory the Bears would be foolish to offer him $15M a season.

$15M is probably overboard. That was my prediction before the season, but Cutler has played so badly he's costing himself a lot of money.

I could see a bidding war between the Jets, Dallas, and Arizona depending on how those situations are after next year. Those three teams are dumb and rich. Well, maybe not Arizona.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

I could see Arizona even though they believe Skelton is their future. I really can't see Dallas getting rid of Romo for the same guy. Cutler struggles dealing with the Chicago media I seriously doubt he'll want to deal with the media in NY. Didn't the Jets give Sanchez a new deal this offseason?