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Who Are The Highest Paid Quarterbacks In The Nfl

Bonisiwe Shabane
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who are the highest paid quarterbacks in the nfl

The NFL is a lucrative business, to say the least, and the numbers prove it revolves around quarterbacks. No one, aside from owners, makes as much as quarterbacks do in today's NFL. Teams that find a long-term solution at the position will often do all it takes to keep him, and that results in some massive deals for the league's top signal-callers. A few of the highest-paid quarterbacks might surprise you. Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen are the league's last three MVPs, but none rank within the top five annual salaries and two aren't even in the top 10. Here's a complete breakdown of the highest-paid NFL quarterbacks, from annual salary and guaranteed money to career earnings and largest contracts.

Salary is best measured through the average annual value (AAV) of a player's contract. For example, the salaries on a four-year, $200 million deal can differ by year, particularly as teams work to restructure contracts to convert some money into signing bonuses, but a player on a four-year,... Quarterback is the most critical position in sports, and NFL signal-callers are paid handsomely for their performance. As the league’s salary cap continues to increase, QB salaries have skyrocketed, with average annual value (AAV), total value, and guaranteed money on the rise. Who is the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL, and who are the other top earners at the position? Dallas Cowboys star quarterback Dak Prescott is the highest-paid QB in the NFL.

In fact, he’s the highest-paid player in NFL history. Hours before the Cowboys’ 2024 season kicked off, Prescott signed a record four-year, $240 million deal. His average annual value (AAV) is a whopping $60 million, which is $5 million more than the next-closest player. The deal features $231 million in guaranteed money. The NFL is a quarterback-driven league, and there is no better indicator of that than quarterback salaries as of late. Quarterbacks are by far the highest-paid players in the NFL.

They touch the football on nearly every snap, and with how the league has become pass-heavy and often reliant on the dual-threat capabilities of many quarterbacks, the position is more valuable than ever. After all, just look at how the Bengals and Ravens have played when superstars Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson aren't available. Below is a closer look at who the highest-paid quarterbacks are, and how their salaries compare to other athletes. The highest-paid quarterback in the NFL based on annual salary is Dak Prescott, who signed a deal worth $60 million per year in 2024. Based on total guaranteed money, Bills quarterback Josh Allen is the highest-paid. Allen signed an extension this past offseason which includes $250,000,000 guaranteed.

In terms of total value, Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes has by far the largest overall deal, worth $450,000,000 over 10 years, with over $141 million in total guaranteed money. The NFL quarterback market has exploded over the last decade-plus, and top signal-callers continue to reset the market each offseason. Most recently, San Francisco 49ers star Brock Purdy was able to cash in with a lucrative extension. The final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft had previously been one of the cheapest starting quarterbacks in the league, as he played on a four-year, $3.74 million rookie contract. Now, he is set to play on a five-year deal worth up to $265 million. Purdy's jump to a top-paid player highlights the dichotomy within the league when it comes to quarterback spending.

Those with rookie quarterbacks tend to have cheap quarterback rooms where their top-paid signal callers are making less than $10 million annually. Meanwhile, many with top veterans are paying at least $50 million in average annual value (AAV) for their passers. Here's a look at the NFL's highest-paid quarterbacks by team as it currently stands. There are a few important things to keep in mind when assessing this list. They are as follows: Time crunch?Get all your NFL news here in just 60 words

Patrick Mahomes is the face of the NFL today. With three Super Bowls and two NFL MVP awards, there is arguably no more bankable player than the Kansas City quarterback. And yet, when you look at the league’s highest-paid players, his name is nowhere near the top. Yes, the man redefining the sport is making less per year than the likes of Trevor Lawrence, Jordan Love, Dak Prescott, and even Tua Tagovailoa. Not one of these QBs has even reached a conference championship, let alone won a Super Bowl. Quite startling, one could argue — but that’s not the whole story.

Back in 2020, the Chiefs rewarded the pedigree of Patrick Mahomes by giving him the largest contract in sports history at that time — a 10-year, $450 million extension. By then, he had led the team to a Super Bowl win, earned Super Bowl MVP and regular season MVP honors, and made two AFC Championship Game appearances. So, that lucrative, long-term deal made sense. The only reason Mahomes’ $45 million-per-year payout seems small now is that the QB salary market resets every offseason. Even Tom Brady didn’t make that kind of money back then. He signed a two-year, $50 million deal with Tampa Bay.

The seven-time Super Bowl winner took pay cuts to help his team build a championship roster — something Mahomes seems to be doing as well. The San Francisco 49ers locked down their franchise quarterback earlier this week, agreeing to a five-year, $265 million extension with quarterback Brock Purdy. This continues the trend of the 49ers keeping their offensive core intact, as they've extended Purdy, Christian McCaffrey, Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle over the past year. This extension also continues the trend of NFL teams signing their quarterbacks to long-term deals at least one year before they hit the open market, with the average quarterback salary continuing to rise. With Purdy's extension now in the bag, here are the 10 highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL — once Purdy's deal kicks in. Contract: Five-year, $260 million deal ($52 million per season)Date signed: April 2023

What's happened since the contract was signed: Baltimore signed up for the best version of Jackson, and that's precisely what it has received. Granted, the Ravens are yet to win the AFC with him, but over the last two seasons (2023-24) Jackson has averaged 868 rushing yards, earned All-Pro honors in both years and was the 2023... Just last season, Jackson totaled a career-high in passing yards (4,172), passing touchdowns (41) and an NFL-best in passer rating (119.6) while throwing just four interceptions. Just hours ahead of the Dallas Cowboys’ 2024 season, quarterback Dak Prescott agreed to a four-year extension worth $240 million, with $231 million guaranteed. The $60 million annual average value is the highest in NFL history. Prescott’s deal vaulted the Cowboys quarterback to the top of the list.

After an MVP season, the Bills rewarded Josh Allen with one of the largest contracts in NFL history. Allen’s $250 million in guaranteed money is the largest ever given to an NFL player. He’s tied with Green Bay’s Jordan Love, Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence, and Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow for second among the highest-paid NFL quarterbacks with a $55 million AAV. All of these deals in the past two years follow a trend of NFL stars signing extensions before they hit the open market.

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