The NFL quarterback market has been rising rapidly over the past decade and shows no signs of slowing down.
The rapid growth of the market is understandable. Quarterback is the most important position in the league, but there is a lack of highly qualified professional ready-to-play candidates to play it.
That’s why teams try to sign a good quarterback when they find one, regardless of price. This is made possible by the league’s ever-increasing salary cap, which helps push the threshold for top-end quarterback extensions closer to $200 million total and $50 million average annual value (AAV). .
Perhaps no player will receive a bigger overall contract than Patrick Mahomes, and maybe Deshaun Watson will remain the guaranteed king for another NFL offseason — but teams will lose their top quarterback. As long as they continue to fear the possibilities, they will do whatever they can. to keep him. That’s why the NFL’s top 10 quarterbacks will make more than $2.3 billion combined across their contracts.
Here, we take a closer look at the league’s highest-paid QBs in 2024, including average annual value, total salary, and total salary.
(All payroll numbers are obtained via Spotrac.com unless otherwise stated).
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Who is the highest paid quarterback in the NFL?
Before we answer that question, let’s first confirm that the best way to compare salaries in the NFL is by using the average annual value (AAV) of the contract. This is the most accurate measure of a player’s value, even if the full amount of his contract is not guaranteed.
Joe Burrow enters the 2024 offseason as the NFL’s highest-paid quarterback, earning $55 million annually as part of a five-year contract extension with the Bengals. He is one of five quarterbacks leaguewide making more than $50 million a season. The other four are Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts.
Mahomes is technically in the middle of a 10-year, $450 million deal with the Chiefs, so one might think his contract is worth $45 million annually on paper. However, the 2023 reorganization changed that calculation, with Mahomes now making $52.65 million annually through the 2026 season.
Mahomes and the Chiefs plan to review his contract in 2026, so the $52.65 million AAV is the amount Kansas City is paying him, even though the total length and amount of the contract technically haven’t changed. more accurately reflects the
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Highest paid quarterback in the NFL
rank | player | AAV |
1 | Joe Burrow | $55 million |
2 | patrick mahomes | $52.65 million |
3 | Justin Herbert | $52.5 million |
Four | lamar jackson | $52 million |
Five | Jalen Hurts | $51 million |
6 | Kyler Murray | $46.1 million |
7 | deshaun watson | $46 million |
8 | Josh Allen | $43 million |
9 | duck prescott | $40 million |
daniel jones | $40 million | |
Matthew Stafford | $40 million |
Who is the most reliable quarterback in the NFL?
Deshaun Watson signed a massive contract extension with the Browns during the 2022 offseason, but he remains the quarterback with the most guarantees on his contract. Cleveland gave Watson the full $230 million guaranteed. The Browns may regret that decision, considering he started 12 games in two seasons with Cleveland and had a passer rating of just 81.7.
Herbert and Burrow became the second and third QBs to break the $200 million guaranteed threshold during the 2023 offseason. Lamar Jackson has hinted that he wants guarantees like Watson, but his contract was signed before Herbert and Burrow, giving him $185 million.
Mahomes is the most recent quarterback to join the $200 million guaranteed club. The restructured contract guaranteed he would earn $210.6 million through 2026. This was a way for Kansas City to make a big payday after the Chiefs beat the Eagles in Super Bowl 57.
NFL quarterback signs with maximum guaranteed money
rank | player | guarantee |
1 | deshaun watson | $230 million |
2 | Joe Burrow | $219 million |
3 | Justin Herbert | $218.7 million |
Four | patrick mahomes | $210.6 million |
Five | lamar jackson | $185 million |
6 | Jalen Hurts | $179.3 million |
7 | Kyler Murray | $159.8 million |
8 | Josh Allen | $150 million |
9 | Matthew Stafford | $130 million |
Ten | duck prescott | $126 million |
Which quarterback in the NFL has the largest overall contract value?
Mahomes still has the NFL’s largest contract totaling $450 million. The Chiefs will likely restructure his contract, possibly ahead of the 2026 NFL season, so he could end up making more than $450 million over the course of 10 years.
It’s no surprise that Mahomes is at the top of this list. He was a two-time MVP and three-time Super Bowl champion, leading the Chiefs to back-to-back championships, something no team had accomplished since the Patriots in Super Bowls XXXVIII and III9. It’s a great achievement.
Many other quarterbacks earn at least $230 million in guaranteed money. That includes Burrow, Herbert, Jackson, Josh Allen, Hurts, Kyler Murray and Deshaun Watson.
Given that trend, it appears the starting point for high-end quarterback contracts is starting to be at least $50 million in AAV and $200 million or more guaranteed.
Top NFL quarterback contracts
rank | player | value |
1 | patrick mahomes | $450 million |
2 | Joe Burrow | $275 million |
3 | Justin Herbert | $262.5 million |
Four | lamar jackson | $260 million |
Five | Josh Allen | $258 million |
6 | Jalen Hurts | $255 million |
7 | Kyler Murray | $230.5 million |
8 | deshaun watson | $230 million |
9 | duck prescott | $160 million |
daniel jones | $160 million | |
Matthew Stafford | $160 million |
Who has the highest lifetime earnings among NFL quarterbacks?
Last offseason, Aaron Rodgers passed Tom Brady as the NFL’s all-time leader in lifetime earnings. In 2024, the gap between him and the seven-time Super Bowl champion has widened significantly, and Matthew Stafford has moved to second place on the all-time list, behind Rodgers and ahead of Brady.
Russell Wilson rose to the top five of the all-time leaderboard, but the Broncos released him during the offseason. That will make it difficult for him to rise above No. 4 all-time on the list, and he will eventually be surpassed by some of the younger quarterbacks on the list.
That means Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen should easily reach the top 10 eventually. By the time Mahomes’ contract with the Chiefs ends in 2031, he will likely become the NFL’s top-ranked quarterback in career earnings.
In an ever-changing quarterback situation and as the salary cap continues to rise, it’s certain that Mahomes will eventually face a challenger for the top spot.
Top career earnings for NFL quarterbacks
rank | player | career income |
1 | aaron rodgers | $380.7 million |
2 | Matthew Stafford | $359.3 million |
3 | tom brady | $333 million |
Four | Russell Wilson | $305.4 million |
Five | matt ryan | $303.7 million |
6 | Drew Brees | $269.7 million |
7 | ben roethlisberger | $267.3 million |
8 | Eli Manning | $252.3 million |
9 | peyton manning | $248.7 million |
Ten | philip rivers | $243.9 million |