It's strange, but success can often make a guy worry. That's what happened to Dave Gettleman in the spring of 2015.
After watching Kelvin Benjamin destroy every Carolina Panthers' rookie receiving record, Gettleman's biggest fear was, "What are we going to do if Kelvin gets hurt?"
Incredibly, the answer included a 15-1 regular season and an NFC Championship.
So what worry occupies the top spot of Gettleman's mind now?
"It's the thing that keeps all GMs up at night — the salary cap," he told BBR Wednesday.
For a general manager who's taken a team from $16 million over the cap to nearly $28 million under in three and a half years, you'd think he'd be more confident in his number-crunching ability. But it's obviously not that simple, especially when you start winning.
"The problem is in the current NFL you can't keep everybody," Gettleman said. "So you have to step back and identify who you need to have. Not need, but who you most want to keep, and see if you can get deals done with those people."
Gettleman, of course, won't talk contracts during interviews, but one of those people is Kawann Short. The Panthers made the Pro Bowl defensive tackle their top contract priority when the offseason started. Four months later, not only have they failed to work something out, but now an extension looks like a long shot.
That's because the Eagles on Monday gave their Pro Bowl defensive tackle, Fletcher Cox, a 6-year extension that's reportedly worth $17.2 million per season. According to a source, Short's side wants a similar deal, which is much richer than the $15 million per season ceiling Gettleman likely won't crack.
Yet before the Panthers' minicamp practice on Tuesday, Gettleman walked over to Short, who had skipped the final two weeks of OTAs. Despite the time away and gap in negotiations, Gettleman reached out his right hand. Short shook it, and they hugged.
"I can never fault a guy when he's getting what we call the first kick of the can," Gettleman said, referring to a player's first contract after their rookie deal.
"I would never get upset, it's business, just like I hope they don't get upset with me when I don't give them what they want."
Ted Ginn Jr. didn't get what he wanted in 2014. So after resurrecting his career in Carolina, he took a 3-year, $9.75 million deal with the Cardinals.
.@Panthers GM Dave Gettleman welcomes @kk_mr93 back to the practice field for mandatory minicamp. pic.twitter.com/fls8bLKGpV
— Anthony Flores (@AnthonyFox46) June 14, 2016
"We make him an offer we could afford, and Arizona doubles it. So should I be mad for Teddy for going to Arizona? He's got to feed his family. He's got to set himself up for life," Gettleman said.
A season and just 14 receptions later, Ginn's career again needed resurrecting.
"Teddy said he couldn't believe we brought him back," Gettleman recalled. "I said, 'What are you talking about? I offered you X; they gave you 2X. I don't blame you for going.'"
And that's one of the NFL's other unique challenges. It takes just one team to overpay a guy you want to keep. Or in Cox' case, one team to give a defensive tackle more guaranteed money than the league's reigning MVP.
"What happens is you end up paying for other people's decisions," Gettleman said. "When I say paying, I'm not talking about a dollar amount."
Because most good teams have patience when others break the bank, the price they pay is watching talent walk out the door.
When Gettleman released Pro Bowl cornerback Josh Norman from his franchise tag in April, it sent shockwaves throughout the league. Norman would have eventually signed his $13.9 million franchise tag and played another season with the Panthers. Now he's in D.C., a place that's seen plenty of offseason championships.
The Redskins gave Norman the $15 million per season Gettleman wouldn't, and the decision to let him walk free will be analyzed time and again through at least 2016. But we should know by now that Gettleman isn't afraid to do the unexpected if he believes it's best call for the cap.
"The biggest responsibility I have is putting a value on a player. You value the player — this is what he's worth, and that's where it is," he said. "You can't shop like a drunken sailor, and we're not going to."
Gettleman's also unlikely to blink first in a staredown. Whether it's an agent who's inexperienced with NFL contracts like Norman's or someone who's been around the league nearly as long as Gettleman, he's not going to pay much above value.
"I'd like to think agents have figured out they can't scare me; they can't squeeze me. I'm not going to panic. I'm not going to give money away. It's a waste of time," Gettleman said. "But if that's the attack they want to take, that's their business. I'm too old. I've been around too long to be scared."
Most GMs care about how their decisions now could affect the rest of their career. At 65, this is Gettleman's last job. He'll either win big or go down with his philosophies. Either way, the role isn't only about what he can do today to win a Super Bowl.
"I'm on that tightrope and I constantly have to look at the big picture. I can't make decisions sitting down in the weeds. I have to get way up here," Gettleman said, raising his left hand. "You get down in the weeds, you're going to make mistakes.
"I've seen too many mistakes made because people were afraid and people panicked."
The day after Gettleman freed Norman, he insisted the money freed up would come in handy for other guys. As of Wednesday afternoon, the unused franchise tag makes up half the Panthers' $27.8 million in cap space. It'd be easy to splurge a bit and give Short the extra millions he wants.
But that's how you become a team like the Jets.
Heading into 2015's free agency period, they were $35.8 million under the cap. Today they're just $3.4 under and asking guys to take pay cuts as they try to sign journeyman quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Yes, Short's situation may turn into Norman, Part 2 by next offseason. But ask yourself — do you want to be the Jets?
"The toughest thing for me is I have to balance the short term and the long term all the time. You look at teams, and it's, 'This is our window.' Our window is forever as far as I'm concerned,'" Gettleman said.
"I've said it a million times, and you've seen it — I'm methodical, I'm intentional, and that's the way it's going to be. If people don't like that, I'm sorry."