After Joe Burrow’s Record-Breaking Contract: Who Are The QBs To Have Highest-Paid Contract?

The most crucial position in sports is quarterback, and NFL signal-callers are compensated well for their accomplishments. QB wages have since increased in terms of average annual value (AAV), total value, and guaranteed money as the league’s salary cap keeps rising. Who is the NFL’s highest-paid quarterback going into the 2023 season, and who else makes up the top 5? After Joe Burrow’s Record-Breaking Contract: Who Are The QBs To Have Highest-Paid Contract?

Joe Burrow became the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL in September 2023 after agreeing to an agreement with the Cincinnati Bengals. Burrow agreed to a five-year, $275 million contract, exceeding the previous high-water record of $52.5 million per year and averaging $55 million each season.

Burrow, the first-round selection in the 2020 NFL Draft, had a contract that ran until 2024 after the Bengals exercised his fifth-year option. His new extension will keep him in Cincinnati through 2029.

It won’t be long before a new record holder breaks Burrow’s just-signed record-breaking contract. Only a select few quarterbacks are capable of dethroning Burrow as the best quarterback ever, but these individuals stand out as potential possibilities to sign the upcoming mega-deal.

After Joe Burrow’s Record-Breaking Contract: Who Are The QBs To Have Highest-Paid Contract?

1) Dak Prescott, Cowboys

Although it didn’t seem that long ago, Dak Prescott will enter the third year of a four-year, $160 million contract in 2023. The total guarantees under the agreement, which included a $66 million signing bonus, were $126 million.

Dallas just acquired Trey Lance, which appears to be a ploy to put pressure on Prescott in a contract year. Progress on prospective deal discussions has also been slow. Dallas might not think Prescott is a player deserving of $50 million a year, but that is not a given.

A strong postseason performance would be very advantageous for Prescott.

There is still petrol in the tank for the 30-year-old. Last season, Prescott missed five games due to injury; Cooper Rush filled in well, going 4-1; but when fit, Prescott was as effective as always. Going 8-4 behind the arc, he completed 66.2 percent of his throws for 2,860 yards and 23 touchdowns. However, Prescott also threw 15 interceptions, a concerning number.

This summer, the Dallas Cowboys modified Prescott’s contract. The team was able to free up some needed salary space as a result, but his 2024 cap charge jumped to $59.5 million. Given that Prescott’s agreement expires in 2024, he will have a lot of negotiating power.

2) Tua Tagovailoa, Dolphins

Tua Tagovailoa has obviously taken notice of the massive long-term contracts that quarterbacks selected in the 2020 draft have been receiving this year.

The most recent signing was Justin Herbert, who agreed to a five-year, $262.5 million agreement that will take effect at the start of the 2025 season. Jalen Hurts, a teammate of Tua’s from Alabama, received a deal earlier this year that could have been for $255 million.

In 2025, Tua Tagovailoa will be a free agent. After suffering several head injuries the previous season, there are still questions about Tagovailoa’s durability, but the Dolphin’s offence thrived when the Alabama product was on the field.

Tagovailoa is now in the final year of his rookie deal, and the Dolphins have guaranteed him $23.2 million through 2024 by exercising his fifth-year option.

Tua won’t be able to dodge a sizable deal if he can put together a healthy season and the Dolphins advance.

Since Tua became eligible for an extension this summer, the Dolphins may sign him to a long-term contract at any moment. However, they might want to wait to do so to ensure that their quarterback’s injury problems have subsided if not completely vanished.

In 13 games last season, he completed 64.8 per cent of his throws for 3,548 yards, 25 touchdowns, and only eight interceptions.

3) Trevor Lawrence, Jaguars 

All eyes are now focused on Trevor Lawrence, the lone quarterback who hasn’t committed to a long-term contract with his team despite almost every other proven franchise quarterback having done so.

The Jacksonville Jaguars will want to capitalize on this momentum by winning the postseason. Lawrence still has another decade or more of NFL glory ahead of him at the age of 23.

In the NFL, Lawrence is beginning his third season. Lawrence succeeded as the head coach of Doug Pederson’s reconstructed Jaguars after having a rocky initial season under controversial head coach Urban Meyer. In the previous season, he led the Jaguars to the divisional round of the playoffs while throwing for 4,113 yards, 25 touchdowns, and eight interceptions.

The consequences of Trevor Lawrence’s deal are significant this year. Lawrence shown flashes of exceptional quarterbacking the previous year. He’ll have a lucrative deal of his own going into the 2024 season if he can maintain the greatness he showed in the previous one.

Trevor Lawrence will need to advance the Jaguars through the divisional round if he wants a deal even remotely close to that of Brandon Burrow.

4) Josh Allen, Bills

Josh Allen’s contract, which has an AAV of $43 million, is tenth on this list, which demonstrates how the QB environment has evolved recently. Allen was the second-highest-paid quarterback in the NFL when he signed this contract in 2021.

Allen, who is still only 27 years old, is regarded as the second-best quarterback in the NFL. He is the quarterback with the ultimate dual threat, endowed with exceptional arm talent and improvisational ability that always throws opponents off balance. Allen often uses his legs to prolong plays or even to pull off significant gains along the sideline. He is able to get yards even in the most unlikely of situations.

Allen delivered a masterclass on the level of a superstar last season. He completed 63.3 per cent of his passes for 4,283 yards, 35 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions in 16 games during the regular season.

The overall value of Allen’s six-year deal is $258.034 million, of which $100.039 million is completely guaranteed at signing and a total of $150 million is guaranteed.

For the first time, the Bills restructured Allen’s contract in 2023, turning $26.42 million of his basic pay into a signing bonus. His cap charge for this season is thus only $18.6 million. But in 2024 and 2025, Allen’s maximum amount will increase to $47.1 million and $56.6 million, respectively.

5) Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs 

The 10-year deal extension for Patrick Mahomes demonstrates the many methods used to evaluate NFL contracts. With a total worth of almost $450 million, Mahomes would be by far the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL if we ordered these contracts by total value.

The terms of Mahomes’ deal are unique compared to anything the NFL has ever seen in terms of length and structure. Rolling guarantees in Mahomes’ deal make it practically hard for the Chiefs to release him in the future without incurring significant losses in revenue.

In 2020, the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes agreed to a record-breaking $450 million, 10-year contract. His average yearly salary is $45 million, and Kansas City technically has him under contract until 2031.

However, the agreement also benefits the team in other ways. Kansas City increased cost certainty and locked in an AAV that was already lower than the market average for quarterbacks. And Mahomes’ financial flows, which totalled just $116 million over three years, lagged below most other players.

Top NFL quarterback contracts in total value

Rank Player Value
1 Patrick Mahomes $450 million
2 Joe Burrow $275 million
3 Justin Herbert $262.5 million
4 Lamar Jackson $260 million
5 Josh Allen $258 million
6 Jalen Hurts $255 million
7 Russell Wilson $242.6 million
8 Kyler Murray $230.5 million
9 Deshaun Watson $230 million
10 Dak Prescott $160 million
11 Daniel Jones $160 million
12 Matthew Stafford $160 million
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