The deadline for NFL teams to use the franchise tag has come and gone, and the Lions have yet to come to an agreement with free agent DT Ndamukong Suh.

The Lions smartly passed on tagging Suh, which would have cost the team a ridiculous $26.9 million in 2015. That’s an untenable cap hit for even the best quarterback — much less an interior defensive lineman.

Detroit isn’t out of the financial woods yet, though. A long-term deal for Suh is still on the table and would likely surpass the six-year, $100 million deal J.J. Watt, a superior player, got in Houston. That’s the thing about NFL contracts: It’s not about who’s best as much as who’s next.

Look for @NdamukongSuh to surpass @JJWatt 6-year, $100M contract as richest D player in NFL history if a UFA. Suh more leverage than Watt — Ed Werder (@Edwerderespn) March 2, 2015

Watt’s record-setting deal not only set the market for Suh, it also made the 28-year-old untouchable for any team with realistic Super Bowl aspirations. No matter how disappointed Lions fans would be if Detroit let Suh walk, it would be the best move for the future of the franchise.

Watt is a good case-study for teams interested in signing Suh. The Texans star is far-and-away the best defensive player in football and coming off the most dominant three-year stretch in league history, and even he wasn’t able to lead Houston to top-15 defense in 2014. And Suh is not nearly the destructive force Watt is on a football field:

Guys like Watt and Suh can cover up a defense’s weaknesses, which makes it easier to swallow their higher cap figures. But those weaknesses still exist, and the best opponents can exploit those weaknesses.

In a league with 53-man rosters and 22-man starting lineups (plus special teamers), paying one player a large portion of the cap is simply not an optimal strategy.

The highest-paid player at every position in 2014 combined for just two playoff wins, both coming from Cowboys Jason Witten and Brandon Carr. If these players are worth paying that much, why isn’t it translating to on-field success?

It’s certainly not impossible to win with elite players, but paying those players accordingly does not seem to work.

Just look at the teams that competed in the Super Bowl. The Patriots and Seahawks have a number of players who can be considered the top players at their position: Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski and Darrelle Revis for New England; Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas and Marshawn Lynch for Seattle. Outside of Lynch, not one of those players cracked the top-five in highest cap hit at their position, according to Spotrac.

So how can teams sign Suh without exhausting their cap in the process?

Teams like the Raiders and Jaguars can fit the bill with plenty of cap space to continue their rebuilding efforts. And if those teams are going to ascend, draft picks will be the main catalysts. Young players are cheap and leave room for highly-paid veterans.

What if Suh doesn’t have the patience (or faith) to sign with a bottom-feeder but does not want to cripple his team’s ability to build around him?

One option would be to take less money overall but more guaranteed. So a six-year, $110 million offer may drop to a six-year, $80 million deal but he’d be guaranteed to see all of that money, which is never the case with these NFL mega deals.

The chances of Suh settling for such a deal are as slim as the man himself. Agents want those highest paid player in league history headline — it’s good for business. And Suh wouldn’t want to limit his earning potential, even if it provides long-term job security.

Make no mistake: By the end of the free agency period, Suh will be the highest paid defensive player in the league. But a Super Bowl contender will not be paying him.