There are certain things that always seem difficult as a fan. You always want players to take a little bit of a hometown discount so that you can keep cheering for them on your team, but at the same time you realize their great talent and want them to be paid according to what they would deserve.

Randall Cobb has been in the NFL for four years, but Packers fans built a quick love for him in just a short amount of time. He was selected with the 64th pick of the 2011 NFL Draft, but made a quick impact on the field. Green Bay fans will have a tough time forgetting how he had a 108 yard kickoff return for a touchdown in his first NFL game, the Thursday Night season opener against the New Orleans Saints. He didn't have a significant impact as a rookie though, as he was buried on the depth chart behind Green Bay veteran receivers in Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, James Jones, and Jordy Nelson. His rookie season consisted of 25 catches, 375 yards, and 1 touchdown. Plus he added a punt return touchdown later in the season as well.

He quickly moved up the ranks in 2012 though, as he posted 80 catches for 954 yards and 8 touchdowns. He also had a punt return touchdown in the season opener against the San Francisco 49ers, although that should have admittedly been overturned by a penalty, but that was the replacement ref era of the NFL. It became clear very quickly that he was going to be a big part of the Packers offense for at least the next two seasons as he remained on his rookie contract.

The 2013 season was one cut short due to injury as he was hit low when the Packers were on the road against the Baltimore Ravens. But he still came back and made the most memorable play of the season when he caught the fourth down pass behind the Bears secondary to send the Green Bay Packers to the playoffs. Yet another play that Packers fans will hold onto for quite some time.

This past season was a great one for him too. He had 91 catches for 1,287 yards and 12 touchdowns, all career highs. The Packers had signed receiver teammate Jordy Nelson to a new contract during training camp, but were probably hesitant to get a deal done with Cobb due to his ACL injury from the previous season, making sure he had another healthy season before they gave him a bigger contract.

The rumors around the NFL is that Randall Cobb is asking for around 9 million this upcoming season. It is of this writer's opinion that Cobb is in fact worth a little bit more than 9 million a year. He will be 25 when the 2015 NFL season starts and would be worthy of a 5 year, $48 million contract.

The question still begs to be answered whether or not he will get that money from the Packers, or if he will get it from a team in free agency like the Browns or Raiders. One thing that people tend to forget is that Ted Thompson invested three draft picks last year in wide receivers, knowing that this upcoming dilemma of signing receivers would be difficult. The only one that saw the field much this past year was Davante Adams. For a rookie, his season was quite impressive, posting 38 catches for 446 yards and 3 touchdowns. That includes a 7 catch, 118 yards, and 1 touchdown performance in the playoff opener against the Dallas Cowboys.

After Adams the next receiver taken was Jared Abbrederis, the Wisconsin Badger prospect that made people all over the state excited because they love their Badgers and their Packers. He tore his ACL in a training camp practice before the preseason even started. It was definitely sad news, and makes it tough to evaluate if Abbrederis could step up and take the slot position the way Cobb had the previous few years.

The other rookie wide receiver was Jeff Janis, a raw prospect from Saginaw Valley State in Michigan. He caught 2 passes for 16 yards in the week 5 contest in which they blew out the Minnesota Vikings. But he only appeared in 2 other games and still has a long way to go to have an increased impact in the 2015 season, or at least that is how it appears.

Because the Packers do have other options, it would not be a surprise for them to try and get Randall Cobb back at a reduced rate, or a hometown discount if you prefer that term. But if it's going to be a lower rate, it would be a smart assumption that Cobb would probably want less years on that type of a deal. Right now this writer predicts that the Packers are giving him an offer around 3 years and $24 million. That is the business in the NFL, where the difference between $8 million a years and $9.6 million a year can actually mean the a difference in $24 million over the life of a contract.

If push comes to shove in the negotiations between the Green Bay Packers and Randall Cobb, the Packers will probably do what they always do, and let Cobb go to another team that will pay him more money. Then they will draft yet another young receiver in round 2 or 3 of this year's draft to keep building up their receiving corps for the future.