ALLEN PARK -- Wide receiver Marvin Jones has reportedly agreed to a contract with the Detroit Lions that will average in the ballpark of $8 million per year.

Based on a initial glance at fan reactions, there appears to be some hand-wringing over the size of the deal. But let's consider some context here before cursing the Lions for overspending.

First, in the past four years, the salary cap has jumped from $123 million to $155.27 million. That's a 26 percent increase. Logically, that means player salaries have increased at the same rate.

But the increase has been even sharper for veterans following the introduction of a rookie salary scale in 2011, which has significantly limited the earning power of first-round draft picks.

In 2010, No. 1 pick Sam Bradford signed a six-year $78 million contract with $50 million guaranteed. Jameis Winston, last year's top choice, got a four-year pact at $25.4 million.

That's the extreme example, but the difference between the No. 15 selections in 2010 and 2015 was $1.5 million annually. The money that used to go to top draft picks is still being spent, just on veteran players.

The second important thing to remember is long-term NFL contract figures are often inflated by money at the end of the deal that a player will never see. The focus should be on the guaranteed money and the structure of the contract, which is almost always back-loaded.

Let's use a recent Lions example. In 2013, Detroit signed running back Reggie Bush to a four-year, $16 million deal. The pact only included $4 million in guaranteed money. In the end, he played just two years and saw half the value.

Given the rapidly rising cap, which jumped another $12 million this year, an average salary of $8 million for Jones isn't even unreasonable for a receiver capable of contributing 70 receptions and 900 yards to the offense.

Yes, he's statistically comparable to Golden Tate when he signed with Detroit for five years and $31 million two years ago. But Jones is reaping the benefits of inflation.

And understand, Jones is not going to count $8 million against the cap in 2016. The first-year number will likely to be closer to $4 million, based on the way contracts are typically structured and compared to other receivers at the same price point.

Torrey Smith inked a five-year, $40 million deal with the 49ers last year with a first-year cap hit of $3.6 million. Eric Decker's five-year, $36.25 million contract with the Jets had a $4 million cap hit the first year. And Pierre Garcon's five-year, $42.5 million contract had a first-year hit of $4.7 million.

If Jones' deal follows suit, that would mean he'll only eat up about 10 percent of Detroit's available cap space in 2016, while filling a huge need.

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