Note: I am a diehard San Francisco 49ers fan so this angle comes from someone who is a fan of Colin Kaepernick.

Speculation abounds that Kaepernick and the 49ers are in contract negotiations that would keep in San Francisco for a long time.  The rumors out there are that Kaepernick is looking for a deal in the 18 million dollar a year range.  I have a difficult time believing that he (or anyone not named Peyton Manning, tom Brady or Drew Brees) is worth that kind of money.  Kaepernick is a nice player, but he is far from polished at this point in his young NFL career.  He is not efficient enough in the passing game and had a hard time deciding when to run and when to throw a season ago.

He has remarkable talent, but I don’t think it is a good business for the 49ers to use nearly 10 percent of the salary cap on a quarterback who isn’t even close to his peak just yet.  Kaepernick still has strides to make before he is an upper echelon signal caller and should be compensated as such.

The 49ers will make a big mistake if they Kaepernick was he is asking for at this point in time because he just isn’t worth it.  There are too many other players who deserve to be paid.

All you have to do is look at the Baltimore Ravens to see my point.  After they beat my beloved Niners in the Super Bowl they threw a massive contract at Joe Flacco to keep him in the fold.  In the process, they had to trade away great players like Anquan Boldin (and I love the Ravens every day for that move) and let a good group of core young guys sign in other places because Baltimore just didn’t have the cap space to pay them.  And what did the Ravens get for investing all of that money in Joe Flacco? An 8-8 record and the opportunity to watch the playoffs from home.

I know having a good quarterback is important, but football is a team game.  It takes 53 players and a solid coaching staff to make a great football team, not just one guy.  Let’s wait until you bring us ring number six and then maybe you will deserve the giant payday you are looking for.