The quarterback market is going higher and higher each year. With Trevor Lawrence now sitting on a $55 million deal, Tua Tagovailoa’s upcoming contract is expected to be even higher now. And NFL insider Tom Pelissero thinks this $50m+ has now become the most basic package.
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Getting a blockbuster deal, Lawrence signed a five-year extension with the Jaguars, for $275 million. That’s big money for a quarterback who doesn’t have much to show from last year. Players like Tua and Dak, on the other hand, had one of their best seasons. This, Pelissero thinks, is going to complicate matters. He opined,
“Now if you have a debate whether Tua’s contract should be closer to a $50 million or $60 million, his agent is probably going to say, ’55 is the floor, and we wanna beat that.’ Because Trevor Lawrence statistically has not done what Tua has done… We went from 40 to 45 to 50 to now 55 is really going to be the baseline for all these deals to get done.”
Lawrence is now tied with Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow for the highest annual average salary in the NFL. The Dolphins and Cowboys are likely going to really regret not signing Tua and Dak to an extension before Lawrence’s deal reset the market and their expectations in this fashion.
Additionally, Lawrence’s contract has strong guarantees. If Tua’s agent looks to bolster his client with those guarantees, it could prove even more challenging for the team. Unless a team decides to correct the market. But would a franchise be willing to do that and fracture their relationship with their QB?
Have the QB Deals Gone Too Far?
The QB market has truly been going crazy over the past couple of years, as the NFL insider noted. While agents are going to ask for the highest number, what is stopping the franchise from denying it? Apart from wanting to retain their top player, teams don’t really have much of a reason.
So, unless they’re really desperate to retain their QB, they can just refuse the extension.
“There is the relation with the player and the locker room dynamics but…there’s teams that are going to look at this and say ‘we’re not comfortable going there…There’s even been talks among some NFL owners about a quarterback cap where you want quarterback numbers to not go over a certain percentage of your salary cap.”
However, Pelissero says this has not really gotten much traction and is not likely to go anytime anywhere soon. But Trevor Lawrence’s contract could just be the stick that breaks the camel’s back, as he is getting paid at a high level, without necessarily performing at a high level.
Another possibility could be that a quarterback decides to take a salary cut, as many have over the years like Brady and Mahomes, for the greater good. But QBs playing at a high level are going to look for commitment from their teams, so those numbers will have to be on offer.
Is the quarterback market only going to go up from here or is a team going to put its foot down and disrupt this trajectory?
