NFL QB Contract Arms Race: When Will We See a $100M Salary? $1B Contract?

Jordan Love #10 of the Green Bay Packers (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)

Inflation is a topic on the minds of most Americans these days, but if you're a franchise quarterback in the National Football League, this economy is treating you well. The salary arms race among franchise quarterbacks has been one of the hottest topics of discussion this NFL offseason.

Just a few days ago, the Green Bay Packers signed Jordan Love, a player with only one full season of experience and no true individual honors or major statistical accomplishments to speak of, to a four-year, $220 million contract extension.

The new deal placed him in a tie with Jacksonville's Trevor Lawrence and Cincinnati's Joe Burrow for the highest-paid player in NFL history, at $55 million per season.

Love's new contract broke another record, biggest signing bonus, at $75 million.

Lawrence signed his deal a little over a month ago while Burrow's new payday became finalized last fall. Additionally, Tua Tagovailoa became the fourth highest paid player of all-time, when the Miami Dolphins inked him on a new deal, which became public knowledge right around the same time as Love's did.

Add in the mega contracts that were given to Jarred Goff (Detroit) and Justin Herbert (Los Angeles Chargers), and Lamar Jackson (Baltimore Ravens), who became the highest paid player of all-time in April of 2023, has been pushed down to seventh place on the best paid list.

That's how rapid the rate of inflation is for star signal caller salaries. Hey, they just cost a lot more these days.

Let's take a look at the current QB rich list, when they got on it, and where this is all going. In the words of rapper Jay-Z, "we played monopoly with real cash."

(All salary figures via Spotrac)

Highest Annual NFL Salaries

1. T1.Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals, $55,000,000
2. T1. Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars, $55,000,000
3. T1. Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers, $55,000,000
4. Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins, $53,100,000
5. Jared Goff, Detroit Lions, $53,000,000
6. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers, $52,500,000
7. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens, $52,000,000
8. Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles, $51,000,000
9. Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals, $46,100,000
10. Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns, $46,000,000

Quarterbacks don't just comprise the entire top ten, but actually the whole top 18. It is no wonder we constantly hear that cliche "it's a quarterback driven league."

And there is a lot of momentum to keep going in this direction too. Four of the top five signed their deals in 2024 while the entire top eight were finalized in either this year or last year.

The whole top 10 are from 2022 and onward.

Now let’s get fiscal (instead of physical, sorry Olivia Newton-John fans) by looking at the all-time most expensive NFL players (or we could just say most expensive QBs) by total contract amount.

Highest Total Contract Value

1. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs, $450,000,000
2. Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars, $275,000,000
3. Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals, $275,000,000
4. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers, $262,500,000
5. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens, $260,000,000
6. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills, $258,034,000
7. Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles, $255,000,000
8. Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals, $230,500,000
9. Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns, $230,000,000
10. Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers, $220,000,000

Next Wave of Milestones

There are actually 39 players in NFL history who have signed a nine figure deal, or as Birdman feat. Young Jeezy would say "That Cash Money, that 100 million dollar money."

The first ever $1B player deal is not as far off as you might think. Ditto for the first $100m per season deal. However, it most likely won't go to anybody on this list. By the time most of these guys reach conclusion on their current deals, they'll be at the tail end of their primes, or well past them.

Their next deals just won't be as lucrative. The first $100M per or $1B man is probably just a freshman in college or senior in high school right now.

So those benchmarks probably won't be hit until at least 6-8 years down the road. In the meantime, we'll see a $500 million deal, and/or a $75M per season deal within the next 2-4 years. Who could that be?

Keep an eye on Caleb Williams, the new Chicago Bears signal caller, and No. 1 overall pick in this past NFL Draft. Chicago has still never had a truly elite quarterback in the modern era of football, so if he is the one who can finally buck that trend, he'll become one of the most beloved and highest paid players of all-time.

Other contenders include his draft classmates of Jayden Daniels (Washington Commanders) and Michael Penix Jr. (Atlanta Falcons). Another guy who could be on track to break this barrier is reigning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year C.J. Stroud. The number 2 overall pick in the 2023 draft has gotten off to a great start in his pro career.