Massive Joe Burrow contract is a win for LSU Tigers

Joe Burrow is a Baton Rouge legend and, now the highest-paid player in NFL history. Indeed, his latest contract is a massive win for the LSU Tigers.

On Thursday, Joe Burrow signed a five-year, $275 million contract extension with the Cincinnati Bengals. The deal means that the former LSU signal-caller is now the highest-paid player in NFL history. He might not be the league’s top earner tomorrow, but today, Burrow is king.

Burrow’s record-setting contract is excellent news for Baton Rouge. The LSU Tigers can take much credit for the contract while selling future quarterback recruits on their football program. Such is possible because Joe Burrow emerged from depth chart obscurity at Ohio State to college football supremacy at LSU.

The LSU Tigers once provided Joe Burrow with something Urban Meyer refused to: an opportunity to lead. Moreover, the football resources and talent level in Baton Rouge proved that a quarterback with a work ethic and endurance can develop into a superstar. That is a solid message to the nation’s top high school and transfer portal quarterbacks.

It’s a message shared across the globe.

Plenty of LSU quarterbacks played football in the NFL, but none measure up to Burrow’s stature.

In the modern era, JaMarcus Russell was the most famous quarterback to move from Baton Rouge to pro football. However, the first overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft flopped at the pro level. As such, there was no sterling example of a quarterback who made the most of his opportunity at LSU and leveraged it into NFL stardom.

Nevertheless, Joe Burrow is now the example of what is possible for young quarterbacks who choose to play football in Death Valley.

’Our program has turned quarterbacks into NFL superstars…look at Burrow,’ is the message I imagine LSU coaches are sending to recruits. Such a message grows stronger as the Bengals’ quarterback continues compiling NFL accolades and contract extensions.

Burrow’s tenure at LSU will remain handcuffed to mentions of his greatness on and off the NFL gridiron.