Storyline: Price Per Yard (PPY) is a new way to evaluate players and positions. In this article we look at NFL Running Backs.
Have you ever wondered how much it costs a franchise to get the football one yard down the field?
I’m calling this statistic, Price Per Yard (PPY). It’s a way to break down players and positions to figure out how much money is being spent to get the ball downfield. It’s calculated by taking the players cap hit to the franchise and dividing it by the TOTAL yards the player gained. That measures how effective players are compared to their cap hit. The lower the PPY, the more efficient is the player to their franchise.
Courtesy: Sportslogos.net
The average came out to $2,203.27 per yard for Running Backs (RBs) with 100+ touches throughout the season. To put this in perspective, RBs are averaging almost as much money for 1 yard as the monthly median wage in the United States.
Teams that went to the playoffs were more efficient with their RBS, whether it was paying them less or getting more production out of them to achieve $1,731.35 per yard. Non-playoff teams had the highest average at a total of $2,352.43 per yard.
The cheapest RB to have per yard last season was the underdog Justin Forsett of the Baltimore Ravens at a cost of $372.79 per yard. This incredible number was achieved with a combination of a $570,000 cap hit and getting 1,529 total yards of offense.
The most expensive RB was Toby Gerhart of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Although he wasn’t a starter at the end of the season, he still had over 100 touches with a PPY of $7,812.50. The Jags took a cap hit of $4,000,000 for the promising Stanford product–only to be left with 512 total yards and, then, ultimately turning to Denard Robinson.
Courtesy: thacover2.com
Lowest PPY RB’s 2014
*Justin Forsett (Ravens) $372.79
*Le’veon Bell (Steelers) $422.80
*C.J. Anderson (Broncos) $425.55
Alfred Morris (Redskins) $488.83
*Eddie Lacy (Packers) $492.38
Courtesy: rantsports.com
Highest PPY RB’s 2014
Toby Gerhart (Jags) $7,812.50
Jamaal Charles (Chiefs) $7,243.11
Lesean McCoy (Eagles) $6,580.73
Arian Foster (Texans) $5,403.69
*Reggie Bush (Lions) $5,352.94
* = Went to Playoffs in 2014
Teams that were able to have productive RBs, while keeping them on cheap contracts (veterans or rookie contracts), were more likely to get into the playoffs. So the PPY Statistic reveals the importance of getting productive players at a fair price.
The next time you see a big-name RB getting a hefty contract, consider how many yards he’ll need to achieve a good PPY average.
