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Dave Ventresca looks at the current top-20 highest-paid quarterbacks in term of Average Annual Value (AAV). Which quarterbacks are overpaid and which are underpaid?
Quarterback. It’s arguably the most important position in all of professional sports. If you’ve got a star quarterback, you can be a perennial title contender for 10-15 years. One of the downsides that come with a stud quarterback, though, is that they are expensive to keep. Such an impactful position demands a high cost.
Sadly, we often see questionable contracts given to some quarterbacks due to the importance of the position. Have you ever wondered where your team’s quarterback ranked in terms of his salary among other quarterbacks? If so, you’re in luck because that’s exactly what we are going to do today.
Make sure you keep up to date with all your fantasy football needs by following RotoBaller on X and checking out RotoBaller.com. Let’s examine the top-20 highest-paid quarterbacks in terms of Average Annual Value (AAV), courtesy of Spotrac.
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20. Sam Darnold, Minnesota Vikings - $10 million AAV
The current Vikings starting quarterback kicks off our list. This is a very team-friendly price. It will allow Minnesota to build in other areas. The quality of play they get for this price, however, is another issue altogether. With the Vikings now armed with two first-round picks in April’s draft, it would seem that Darnold’s reign atop the depth chart will not last very long.
19. Gardner Minshew, Las Vegas Raiders - $12.5 million AAV
Similar to Darnold, Minshew would enter the 2024 season as the Raiders starter as things currently stand. This is another team-friendly deal. Once again, though, this might be a case of getting what you pay for. While it’s a great AAV, rostering Minshew as your QB1 is highly questionable.
The Raiders were said to be in hot pursuit of a quarterback upgrade this offseason. It’s a decent bet that Minshew isn’t what they had in mind, and they aren’t done adding to the position.
Our own Robert Lorge has Las Vegas selecting quarterback Bo Nix in the second round of his most recent NFL mock draft. A move like this could be in the cards for the silver and black.
18. Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers - $13.5 million AAV
Taking the team to the Divisional Round in his first year as a starter, Love certainly looked the part as the next great Packers quarterback.
JORDAN LOVE TO Dontayvion Wicks FOR ANOTHER TOUCHDOWN 😱😱
the Packers are EMBARASSING the Cowboys right now, up 20-0 😳
pic.twitter.com/Y2TbGWrI7p— Last Take™ (@TheRealLastTake) January 14, 2024
Green Bay is very young, but it also boasts an abundance of talent. Having Love so far down this list will only help its chances of making another playoff run in 2024.
17.) Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks - $25 million AAV
The 2022 Comeback Player of the Year comes in ranked 17th. Smith enjoyed a career resurgence in Seattle and was rewarded for his play. While he regressed in 2023, Smith’s contract is still very team friendly and makes it easy for Seattle to continue building around him. Seattle can get out of his contract in 2025 for only a $13.5 million dead cap hit. It remains to be seen just how far the Seahawks can go with Smith under center.
16.) Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers - $33.3 million AAV
The two Dave Canales reclamation projects come in back to back. Mayfield is coming off a career year in 2023. He posted career highs in passing touchdowns, passing yards, and completion percentage. Despite all that, he only ranked 18th in Pro Football Focus’ passing grade. While the Buccaneers were able to sign Mayfield to a relatively cheap extension, it will be interesting to see how he performs with Canales now in Carolina. Geno Smith regressed in 2023 with Canales gone. We may see the same from Mayfield this year.
15.) Jared Goff, Detroit Lions - $33.5 million AAV
The Detroit Lions have done a fine job building around Goff. His contract has made it easy to do so. Detroit was 30 minutes away from its first-ever Super Bowl appearance before an all-time collapse ended its playoff run.
2024 is the final year of Goff’s current contract. He certainly looks in line for a pay raise given his play the last few years. Detroit has one last chance to make a run on this contract. Goff’s AAV is sure to increase on his next deal whether that be with Detroit or somewhere else.
14.) Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets - $37.5 million AAV
Getting a future Hall of Famer as your starter for this price seems a little unfair. Especially when you see some of the upcoming names on our list.
The four-time league MVP had his debut season with the Jets cut short due to an Achilles injury in Week 1. He’s set to return in 2024 and will be looking to return to form.
AARON RODGERS HAS THROWN A TOUCHDOWN FOR THE NEW YORK JETS pic.twitter.com/psqiRYzCUs
— uSTADIUM (@uSTADIUM) August 26, 2023
If Rodgers can remain healthy and the team makes the correct moves, the Jets can take advantage of this price tag.
13.) Derek Carr, New Orleans Saints - $37.5 million AAV
Carr is once again set to enter the 2024 season as the Saints starter. This is not the worst AAV compared to other names on our list, but there are certainly better bargains when you compare their careers against Carr’s.
Not to mention that he has the same AAV as four-time league MVP Aaron Rodgers.
The Saints are currently feeling the effects of their salary-cap woes. Carr has done his part to help the team by restructuring his deal this offseason. With only one playoff start to his name, the Saints will be hoping Carr can help lead them to the postseason for the first time since 2020.
12.) Daniel Jones, New York Giants - $40 million AAV
Jones’s contract was a bit of a head scratcher at the time. Yes, he did enjoy a bounce-back season in 2022, but he’s still struggled mightily at times during his career.
DANIEL JONES THROWS A PICK SIX 😳
DEVON WITHERSPOON 97 YARDS TO THE HOUSE 😱
(via @NFL)
pic.twitter.com/bvHq9gFzdu— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 3, 2023
Jones is now coming off an ACL injury, and there have been murmurs the Giants are interested in drafting a quarterback if one falls to them in April’s draft.
This contract doesn’t seem as crazy as when Jones signed the deal last year. $40 million is now in the reasonable range for a starting quarterback. Given the way he has played, though, this price is hard to justify when you consider some of the other names around this AAV.
11.) Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys - $40 million AAV
Prescott enters the final year of his contract in 2024. The deal Prescott signed back in 2021 has aged quite well in terms of AAV. While his play in the regular season has been stellar at times, his postseason performances are another story.
With a career 2-5 record in the playoffs, Prescott has not led Dallas to the postseason success fans and many around the organization have wanted. Dallas has one more chance to win with Prescott’s current deal before he is in line for another pay raise next offseason.
10.) Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams - $40 million AAV
The Rams made a big move trading for Stafford back in 2021. They were rewarded with a Lombardi Trophy in their Super Bowl LVI victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Cooper Kupp Super Bowl MVP +500✅ pic.twitter.com/dEQbGqmDEO
— Barstool Gambling (@stoolgambling) February 14, 2022
It’s hard to debate this contract seeing as the Stafford trade already paid off for the Rams. Having him under contract for the same AAV as Daniel Jones sure has to make the Rams front office feel pretty good.
9.) Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills - $43 million AAV
What an amazing value for the Buffalo Bills. Allen has been nothing short of spectacular since the 2020 season.
Now that the #NFL season is officially over, what's your #Bills play of the season?👇
I'll start: Josh Allen's 52-yard rushing touchdown in the AFC Wild Card game against the Steelers.#BillsMafiapic.twitter.com/s8rusLiFAg
— Bills Mafia (@BillsMafia_App) February 14, 2024
Allen has had a combined 40+ touchdowns every year from 2020-2023. These are insane numbers. He’s one of the league's top quarterbacks and to have him under contract at this number is a great value. Buffalo needs to cash in soon and win a championship before its window closes.
8.) Kirk Cousins, Atlanta Falcons - $45 million AAV
Cousins may have the best agent in all of sports. He somehow finds himself signing a handsome contract every time he is due for a new one. While it was cut short due to injury, 2023 may have been Cousins’ best year ever as he finished fourth in Adjusted Completion Percentage, per Fantasy Points Data Suite.
Cousins has been a serviceable quarterback during his career and is perennially underrated. As we climb higher up this list, though, you expect to see names with increasing success in high-leverage games and the postseason. Unfortunately, these are areas where Cousins has failed to excel so far in his career.
Perhaps things will turn out differently in Atlanta where the Falcons see him as the missing piece to propel them to a deep playoff run.
7.) Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs - $45 million AAV
Patrick Mahomes has the same average salary as Kirk Cousins?
Cousins is a good player in his own right. But the fact he and Mahomes have the same average salary is unbelievable. One man has a single playoff win to his name. The other is already in the conversation for the greatest quarterback of all time.
One of these salaries does not add up. I’ll let you be the judge. With Mahomes only seventh in AAV, the two-time defending champion Kansas City Chiefs are in a great spot for a third consecutive title.
6.) Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns - $46 million AAV
If you were wondering where this historic deal was going to land on our list, look no further.
Watson has been an unmitigated disaster since arriving in Cleveland. Playing in only 12 of a possible 51 games since 2020, Watson has struggled mightily to live up to this contract.
🚨 INTERCEPTION 🚨
Levi Wallace picks off Deshaun Watson!pic.twitter.com/r6r5XL8zXf
— Steelers Nation (@SteelerNationCP) January 8, 2023
$46 million a year is a lot to pay a quarterback who’s been mediocre at best. Cleveland has a good team entering the 2024 season. It will be interesting to see how the Browns continue to build around this rather interesting contract.
5.) Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals - $46.1 million AAV
Another questionable contract is next on our list. Murray’s talent is not in doubt. He is electric whenever he’s on the field.
A WILD 2-PT CONVERSION FROM KYLER MURRAY 😱
(via @AZCardinals)pic.twitter.com/6rw5Xkm8yX
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 18, 2022
$46+ million is expensive for a player who has never won a playoff game and has a career 28-36-1 record. It’s not all been Murray’s fault. The Cardinals are currently rebuilding. Before that, Kilff Kingsbury did not exactly light the world on fire as a head coach.
Murray still has time to make good on this contract if the Cardinals can put together the right pieces around him. As things stand right now, this is a hard AAV to justify.
4.) Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles - $51 million AAV
Had it not been for a shoulder injury that forced him to miss two games, Hurts very well could have been the league’s MVP in 2022.
53 YARD TOUCHDOWN PASS FROM JALEN HURTS 🚨#FlyEaglesFly
— TWSN (@TWSN___) September 20, 2022
His play that year propelled the Eagles to a Super Bowl appearance and he was rewarded with a five-year, $255 million contract.
Hurts did regress a bit in 2023. Turnovers were a problem as he threw a career-high 15 interceptions. The organization felt the issue was more former offensive coordinator Brian Johnson than Hurts. They tabbed former Chargers offensive coordinator Kellen Moore to help get Hurts and the Eagles offense back on track.
Hurts is one of the bright young quarterbacks in the game, but he will need to lead Philadelphia to a Super Bowl victory at some point to justify his AAV.
3.) Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens - $52 million AAV
The now two-time NFL MVP comes in at No. 3 on our list. Is there anything to debate here? Jackson is one of the elite quarterbacks currently in the league.
The best plays from Lamar Jackson's second MVP season! 🎯💨 pic.twitter.com/A2x4yItUpq
— NFL (@NFL) March 18, 2024
Baltimore is expected to be a Super Bowl contender yet again in 2024. They’ve got their man Jackson locked up for the foreseeable future. It will be difficult to continue winning with a quarterback now on the books for this kind of money. However, Jackson’s play will allow the Ravens to stay in title contention as long as he remains healthy.
2.) Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers - $52.5 million AAV
Herbert is undoubtedly one of the most talented young quarterbacks in the league. However, this is a tough price to justify when you consider he has one playoff appearance and zero playoff wins thus far in his career. No, it hasn’t been all Herbert’s fault as poor coaching and injury luck have contributed to the lack of success. At some point, though, Herbert is going to have to step up and start taking games over to justify this price.
1.) Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals - $55 million AAV
The highest-paid quarterback in terms of AAV is a former No. 1 overall pick. Burrow has proven he is one of the best quarterbacks in the league. With a career 5.1% Passing Touchdown Percentage, Burrow already has two 30+ touchdown seasons to his name. In only his second season, Burrow helped lead the Bengals to their first Super Bowl appearance in 33 years.
While you can’t debate his play on the field, it’s fair to question whether a player with zero MVP awards and Super Bowl victories should be the highest-paid quarterback in the league. Time will tell if this price was worth it for Cincinnati.
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