If Russell Westbrook played in a clearly structured system that accentuated his strengths while limiting his propensity for mistakes, he would be the Colin Kaepernick of the NBA.

Westbrook is one of the most divisive players in all of sports, with people committing themselves as a detractor or a disciple. In that way, I'm a member of The Church of Kaepernick, immediately convinced that there was no controversy at all in Jim Harbaugh choosing him over Alex Smith in 2012. Kaepernick plays the game exactly how you would in your mind in the backyard as an 8-year-old, or in Madden on your couch at any age.

Unlike Westbrook, however, Kaepernick has a volume dial on his game and which is exceedingly rare for those that play on higher plane than everyone else athletically.

The San Francisco 49ers had the luxury of committing just $2.85 million of their cap space to the quarterback position in 2013, so Colin Kaepernick’s six-year, $121 million extension with $61 million guaranteed represents a total paradigm shift for the franchise.

Kaepernick ranks third in the NFL in Total QBR since becoming the 49ers’ starter in Week 11 of 2012 while ranking fourth in W-L record. The numbers tell only a fraction of his story due to the way the 49ers limit Kaepernick’s running during the regular season to reduce his risk for injury. Kaepernick will always win more actual playoff games than he will fantasy football playoff games in Weeks 14-16.

Playoff Kaepernick is how he should be judged relative to this contract, and he’s been the best player on the field during every single one of his playoff games, which includes the two wins against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.

If you were starting a team from scratch, most people would probably prefer Andrew Luck, but then there is a huge mix of players vying for the No. 2 spot. Rodgers is right on the cusp of aging out of the group, leaving Kaepernick, Russell Wilson, Cam Newton, Matt Ryan and maybe Robert Griffin III if you think he’ll return from injury with strong arguments to be made for each.

Kaepernick and Wilson are each bolstered by a dominant defense that allows them to enter games not needing to score video game numbers to win games and being completely fine with dialing it down. Kaepernick can comfortably coast to double-digit wins in the regular season playing at 75 percent of his capacity knowing that he can flip on his own video game switch in January.

Kaepernick still needs considerable improvement on his read progressions in the pocket. Even his biggest supporters acknowledge this deficiency.

Kaepernick has some of the best instincts at the position and by all accounts he has a tremendous work ethic and a superb mental aptitude. Kaepernick’s 23 starts represents a small body of work in terms of this type of financial commitment, but there’s also so much potential for him to take all of his transcendent positive moments to become a top-5 quarterback in history with improvement in the more traditional parts of the position simply by having more reps in complex situations.

Kaepernick has had the luxury of playing behind a jumbo offensive line with several Pro Bowlers, as well as a trustworthy running back in Frank Gore. They have also upgraded the wide receiving corps in each of the past two offseasons even though they lack a true No. 1. Michael Crabtree, Anquan Boldin, Vernon Davis and now Stevie Johnson don’t create a ton of separation, but they are all great route runners with good hands.

Unless you’re running an offense with a ton of precision, the model in the NFL is to let a quarterback like Kaepernick be a dual-threat playmaker and those receivers play to his strengths in aggregate.

Being a quarterback is always the most lucrative position in football, whether you’re prize is being the big man on your high school campus or making tens of millions in guaranteed money while so many of your NFL peers scramble for six-figure salaries over a three-year period on average.

There is a very narrow middle ground for quarterbacks from an annual salary perspective. Matt Ryan, Tony Romo and Jay Cutler have all recently receive $54 million to $59 million in guaranteed money and none have the type of next level playoff success Kaepernick has shown repeatedly over the past years.

More interestingly, the 49ers could benefit greatly by signing Kaepernick to an extension early for two important reasons:

1. Kaepernick’s 2014 cap number is only $3 million, which allows the 49ers flexibility in other areas short-term.

2. Salaries for NFL quarterbacks is expected to balloon in the coming months and years due to salary cap increases. The cap increased by $10 million per team this season and is expected to go up again in 2015 with quarterbacks likely to take a sizable percentage of that newfound money. The 49ers are getting Kaepernick onto a long-term deal for the rest of his twenties ahead of new deals for Newton and Luck (more importantly) when the going annual rate for the best quarterbacks in the game will be $25 million to $30 million.

A deal has long been anticipated for Kaepernick and now the very uncertain, high-stress negotiation between the 49ers and Harbaugh becomes the next question.

Grade for 49ers: A

Kaepernick was bravely and wisely willing to risk playing out the balance of his rookie deal if the 49ers didn’t bring up their offer to at least $20 million per season, but getting $61 million in guaranteed money before having that hang over every single one of his scrambles is the clear prudent move.

Kaepernick came into the NFL as a second rounder in 2011 without that big, first round money and earned this new deal after winning the starting job in 2012 from Alex Smith. It’s an example of why sports is one of the best meritocracies we know.

Grade for Colin Kaepernick: A