Dominate the Super Bowl

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Fuming with anger, Jackson stormed out of the library. Standing at the door, he took several deep breaths of fresh air, but still couldn't calm down.

Ah!

In the end, he couldn't hold it in and let out a long howl to the sky.

Ahhh!

After a few roars, clenching his fists and exerting all his strength, the murky and scorching feelings accumulated in his chest were finally vented, allowing him to catch his breath a little.

But it still wasn't enough—

Ah!

He shouted again, and all the birds on the tree branches were startled away. The students who were coming in and out of the building also consciously made a detour, leaving some space and looking at the school's football team's most shining star quarterback, turned beast, with faces full of fear and confusion. Was he roaring at the sun?

Unconsciously, an empty zone had formed around Jackson, but at that moment, he truly had no mind to care about those stares.

He wanted to be alone with his thoughts.

He simply sat down on the steps, with his head hanging low, Jackson began to think seriously: How had things developed to this point?

Running back. Running back? Running back!

Jackson still couldn't believe it, "Ha, running back?"

Actually, it wasn't fair to blame Jackson for being arrogant because the reality was just like that.

Looking at the salaries of the thirty-two NFL teams in 2023, here, we're not discussing the top-tier superstars because once they enter the real elite ranks, their salary structures cannot be viewed with ordinary standards; it is very hard to accurately evaluate the market value of different positions in a football team.

Here, looking at the average salary of all players, one can assess the league's overall valuation of offense, defense, and different positions.

The highest average salary among all positions… is not the quarterback, but the offensive left tackle, who is the gatekeeper for the quarterback's blind side.

Perhaps when it comes to top-tier superstars and highest salaries, quarterbacks definitely take the lead, but in terms of average salary, offensive left tackles are the most expensive position, with an average annual salary of eight hundred nineteen thousand US dollars.

Secondly, comes the quarterback, with an average annual salary of six hundred eleven thousand US dollars.

At the bottom is undoubtedly the Special Duty Group's holder, which is the player in the Special Duty Group specifically responsible for setting up the ball and waiting for the kicker to kick the ball.

Do not underestimate this position. In the history of football, there have been more than one classic game where a mistake by the holder has ruined a winning goal.

The average annual salary of a holder is one hundred and ninety thousand US dollars.

Overall, the average annual salary for the offensive group is three hundred forty-six thousand US dollars, for the defensive group it's three hundred eight thousand US dollars, and for the Special Duty Group, it's one hundred seventy-six thousand US dollars.

Clearly, NFL teams invest more money in the offensive side.

Zooming in further on the offensive group.

In all positions within the offensive group, only three have an average annual salary below three million dollars: running back, tight end, and guard.

A few years ago, the average annual salary of tight ends was the lowest in the offensive group, but in the past two years, due to the emergence of Jimmy Graham from the New Orleans Saints and Rob Gronkowski from the New England Patriots, the landscape changed, and the average annual salary of tight ends has risen rapidly.

Now, running back has become the position with the lowest annual salary in the offensive group, with an average figure of only two hundred ten thousand US dollars.

Once, up until the eighties, running backs were still the players with the highest average salary in the entire football team, second only to quarterbacks. But today, they have fallen to this position which can't help but make one exclaim that in the face of the changing tides of the times, all efforts are insignificant, and no one can stop it. Find your next read on empire

This is the reality—

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One is a running back, a tough weed, weathering the winds and rain, enduring hardship.

The other is a quarterback, a precious gem, handled with such care as if it might shatter in the hand or melt in the mouth, so much so that even the average salary of the offensive tackles remains high just to protect this treasure.

Between them, there is a world of difference.

No matter how Jackson thought about it, he still couldn't understand the reasoning behind comparing them. How did that guy suddenly rise to prominence?

In Jackson's view, football is often a game decided by the quarterbacks, and all other players are just a backdrop, all are supporting the lead—

At least, that's how it is for the Louisville Cardinals.

Naturally, Jackson's targets are the quarterbacks of other teams. Watson, Danord, Mayfield, and the likes are his real competition. Be it the Heisman Trophy or the nationwide championship, those are the enemies he needs to beat.

And the running back?

What business does a running back have meddling in quarterback matters?

As for the Crimson Tide Storm, quarterback Hertz is just a high-schooler who hasn't even grown all his hair yet. They rely completely on defense to win games. Their so-called offensive group only scores on the premise that the defense has already subdued the opponent.

It's no different in the game against the Louisville State Tigers; if it weren't for the Crimson Tide Storm defensive group's first-half shutout giving the struggling offense a chance, the game would have already been a mess. It wouldn't have been a running back's place to turn the tides.

In Jackson's view, even if the Louisville Cardinals went head-to-head with the Alabama Crimson Tide Storm, the spotlight should still be on him facing that defensive group. It should never fall on an insignificant running back.

However!

The media just wouldn't leave him alone—

Li Wei, Li Wei, Li Wei, endlessly.

Now, with the Louisville Cardinals having lost and the Alabama Crimson Tide Storm having won, as one rises and the other falls, Li Wei's prospects are being viewed more favorably. In the Heisman Trophy odds, he's surpassed Watson to move up to second and closed the gap with Jackson. The three of them aren't very far apart.

The pressure has suddenly mounted.

Whether Jackson likes it or not, the hot topic of NCAA discussions is now "Jackson VS Watson VS Li Wei," and it will continue to be so.

"Li Wei doesn't see Lamar Jackson as a threat. Let's talk when the Louisville Cardinals make it into the nationwide championship."

Thinking back on this statement, Jackson felt his anger flare:

He never saw Li Wei as a threat, okay? He was the one who said it first, when did it become Li Wei's turn to show off?

The anger blazed to its peak, but Jackson managed to grasp a thread of rationality.

Fine, since they love spectating the drama, he'll just have to prove them all wrong, wouldn't he? If they beat the Alabama Crimson Tide Storm in the nationwide championship, all the chatter will have to shut up, right?

Initially, Jackson had been looking forward to defeating Watson in the nationwide championship, not just for revenge over the regular season's defeat, but also to prove that he was the most talented running back of the year. But now, with Li Wei officially surpassing Watson, he became Jackson's ultimate target to beat in the nationwide championship.

When the result of the game comes out, that guy's face will definitely be a sight to see. He will thoroughly enjoy that moment, imprinting that guy's expression in his mind. Then he'll see if that guy can still talk tough; he'll stuff those trashy words right back into his mouth.

Just picturing the scene made Jackson burst into laughter.

Perfect timing. The Louisville Cardinals' next game was against their historic rivals, the Kentucky Wildcats.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

You could have chosen heaven but you didn't, and now there's no door to hell, yet here you come.

Sorry, Kentucky Wildcats, he just happens to have a fury he can't vent, so he'll warm up with you first, giving a crushing blow, a thrashing, and then grinding you down.

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