Bijan Robinson extension proves Jets were wise to get Breece Hall's deal done early

The New York Jets made a lot of moves this offseason, but none more important than re-signing two of their foundational offensive players. Both running back Breece Hall and guard Joe Tippmann got new deals worthy of their standings.

It was wise for general manager Darren Mougey to get those deals done early. In the weeks and months following each extension, players at the same position as Hall and Tippmann received their own deals that exceeded the ones they received from the Jets.

The Atlanta Falcons had their own guard and running back to extend, and both deals pretty handily blew what the Jets gave to Tippmann and Hall out of the water. Matthew Bergeron's contract is worth $34 million more in total value than Tippmann's pact.

And when it comes to Bijan Robinson's new deal with Atlanta, it was always going to be much larger than Hall's. The fact of the matter is, the total value would've only gone up had Mougey not gotten it done when he did.

New York Jets timing of Breece Hall contract couldn't be better

On Tuesday, Robinson signed the biggest contract for a running back in NFL history, inking a three-year deal worth up to $75 million. It includes $51 million guaranteed.

With an annual average value of $22.25 million, he surpasses Saquon Barkley for the highest-paid running back on a per-year basis. Hall now falls from the fifth-highest paid to the sixth.

Now, just because Robinson set a new benchmark for running backs doesn't necessarily mean the Jets would have had to match it when it came to negotiating with Hall.

But it surely, at minimum, would've raised the floor on what they would've had to have forked over to their long-time running back.

It's why Mougey's early extensions have been so helpful for the franchise. Dating back to last summer, when New York inked Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson to mega-extensions, Mougey has shown a propensity to get ahead of booming positional markets.

Gardner was once the highest-paid corner in the league, but Trent McDuffie and Denzel Ward have both surpassed that. Even Wilson was jumped in terms of average value by players like Drake London and Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

Getting ahead of the market is a key aspect of NFL contracts, and the Jets' general manager has shown to be adept at timing his extensions.

If the Jets had kicked the can down the road on Hall until Robinson and even Jahmyr Gibbs signed their deals, he probably would've cost them more.

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