Johnathan Joseph Tops a Surprising Forbes List

Sept. 16, 2012; Jacksonville FL, USA; Houston Texans cornerback Johnathan Joseph (24) breaks up a pass intended for Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Cecil Shorts III (84) in the second quarter of their game at EverBank Field. Mandatory Credit: Phil Sears-US PRESSWIRE

Forbes recently proved that they should probably stick to what they know best and leave sports to those who know more than they do as a article listed Johnathan Joseph as one of the most overpaid cornerbacks in the NFL.

Joseph is not in the top-ten as far as highest paid corners in the NFL goes, and is unarguably one of the top ten corners in the league.

Many can argue that the defense made it’s historical jump from worst to first due to mainly to Wade Phillips, and while he was obviously a huge contributor, I would contend that Joseph was the reason the team reached the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

When the Texans signed Johnathan Joseph they were thought to be the top bidders in the Nnamdi Asomugha sweepstakes, offering him up to $15 million a year. They instead got Joseph for about $5 million less and used the remainder of the money to sign S Danieal Manning.

Kareem Jackson was below average and was being picked on as the team’s number one corner. When Johnathan Joseph came to Houston he instantly took over the duties of covering the number one receiver and did so admirably hardly allowing a single player to go over a hundred yards against him.

Joseph can’t be looked at in a vacuum however, as he has a huge impact on everyone around him. First and most notably he has made Kareem Jackson better both by teaching him technique and by allowing him to cover number two receivers instead of ones. Second he has made the job of the pass rush infinitely easier as they have more time to get to the quarterback because his receivers aren’t instantly open. Finally, it’s made Wade Phillips job easier as he can now call exotic blitz packages and leave Joseph on an island because Joseph has earned the trust of the Texans to not get burned.

Joseph has also shown himself to be the consummate team player, restructuring his contract so that the Texans could re-sign Matt Schaub to a hefty contract extension.

So, if you’re considered overpaid when you are in the top ten at your position but being paid significantly less to your counterparts, or for making everyone around you better, or when you take less money to help the team win, then Forbes hit the nail on the head. Johnathan Joseph is definitely overpaid.