Romo's Contract: Trust Outweighing Past Performance?

Photo courtesy of CBS Sports

As a starter, Tony Romo has the same number of postseason wins in his career as Tim Tebow does.

Does that mean Romo has the same talent at quarterback as Tebow? No. Absolutely not. Unlike Tebow, Romo can play quarterback in the NFL. Let me just make that clear before we continue.

Romo's new deal with the Cowboys makes him the fourth highest paid quarterback in the NFL. He'll make $108 million over the next six years and $52 million of that is guaranteed.

There are quarterbacks in the league making less money than Tony Romo who have compiled a better resume in their careers. Romo's contract resembles the contract of a quarterback with postseason success and at least one Super Bowl ring. He doesn't fit that description. Hence why the Tony Romo haters and critics were up in arms Friday afternoon, especially if you go by that outline.

It's not that Romo isn't a good quarterback, he just doesn't live up to the money he will receive. Then again, this has been the offseason of certain names in the NFL making some big bills. From Flacco to Wallace, keynote players are making bank in 2013. So where does Romo fit into that group?

It's ike the old Sesame Street song "One of these things is not like the other." Most can see that Romo doesn't belong. Joe Flacco, Drew Brees and Peyton Manning are your three highest paid quarterbacks (for now). There are reports saying that Aaron Rodgers will take the top spot.

All three have at least one Super Bowl win, and other than Manning and Brees' great runs to Super Bowl XLI and XLIV, their other playoff experience still outdoes Romo's. Let's not forget the quarterbacks that follow him on that list. Eli Manning and Roethlisberger fall at seven and nine, and you can make an argument that Jay Cutler and Philip Rivers should not be in the top ten (we all could for Cutler).

So why is Romo getting this big contract extension that on paper, he should not receive? Is it the Cowboy mentality with big spender Jerry Jones? Was Dallas worried about losing him to free agency in 2014 if he didn't have a deal set for Tony before this upcoming season started?

Everyone can assume what they want. Most of those theories may play a part in the new contract. But it seems like Jones and the Cowboys are putting their trust in him, and have some high expectations for Romo. Sometimes the best way to motivate an employee is to offer them a raise. Tony Romo has been feeling the pressure since he took his first snap as the starter, and while he has come short in key situations (we all remember the botched hold on the field goal against Seattle in the NFC Wild Card Game), perhaps this is Jerry Jones going all in on a player with a handful of question marks, but might find a way to bring a Lombardi back to Dallas for the first time since 1995.

While Romo has the same playoff track record as Tebow, he doesn't play at that same level. He's now making the salary of a Super Bowl winning QB. So maybe we just throw those numbers out the window and see the result of big spender Jerry Jones' gamble. There is no doubt that there is more trust in what Jones expects from Romo, over what he hasn't done in his ten seasons in the pros.