And, yes, I've seen the evidence of how Graham's production has declined when he's matched up against No. 1 cornerbacks instead of linebackers and safeties -- especially against New England and Seattle last season.
This perfectly illustrates my opinion. Which is that regardless of the subject of monetary compensation, to me a tight end is a tight end, and a slot receiver is a slot receiver.
Is your threat to block so bad that a team can feel comfortable covering you with a faster defensive back every time you step on the field and your effectiveness is essentially negated? If so, then your ability to create a mismatch is limited by that.
My point is that this is all relative. You may be able to force those mismatches against some teams, and then have your role significantly reduced against others. In that light, the percentage of games you can be expected to have the team's desired impact against would absolutely have a direct impact on your value to that team.