Why the Tennessee Titans Shouldn't Have Paid Chris Johnson

Chris Johnson just got paid a ton of money. Yes he's really good, but in this day and age in the NFL it's not a smart move for teams to sink a ton of cash into a position that has proven to be one that carries both a short life span and a lot of cheaper and equally effective alternatives. You can build an effective running game without having a big name running back, and recent history has proven that makes you a more likely super bowl contender than paying for a big name running back when you could use that money to fill other holes. Let's take a look at recent super bowl winners and their running games

2010 - Packers - James Starks, Brandon Jackson
2009 - Saints - Pierre Thomas, Mike Bell
2008 - Steelers - Willie Parker, Mewelde Moore
2007 - Giants - Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward
2006 - Colts - Joseph Addai, Dominic Rhodes
2005 - Steelers - Willie Parker, old Jerome Bettis

Some solid running backs, but none that had received a large pay day (or at least recently in the case of Bettis). A lot of these guys were either in their first couple of years in the league or were veterans without much wear and tear. What does the below list have in common?

Adrian Peterson
Ladanian Tomlinson
Larry Johnson
Clinton Portis
Chris Johnson
Ahman green
Tiki barber
Frank gore
Deangelo Williams
Ricky Williams
Shaun Alexander

They all were or are highly paid running backs over the last decade who amongst them have 0 super bowl rings.

A good running game is extremely important, but a top tier running back isn't needed to have one which is why the Titans would have been better off not paying CJ.