Just a short time ago, Brock Purdy was one of the most underpaid players in the NFL. The final pick in the 2022 NFL Draft—famously dubbed “Mr. Irrelevant”—Purdy outperformed every expectation, leading the San Francisco 49ers to consecutive playoff runs and a Super Bowl appearance while playing on a four-year, $3.74 million rookie deal.
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That changed this past week when the 49ers rewarded Purdy with a massive five-year, $265 million contract extension, making him one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the league. The deal places Purdy firmly among the NFL’s top 10 earners at the position, where his production arguably belongs.
Now that Purdy is no longer underpaid, the spotlight shifts to one of the best value contracts in the league: Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield. Before the 2024 season, the Bucs signed Mayfield to a three-year, $100 million deal—an absolute steal by today’s quarterback market standards.
At $33.3 million annually, Mayfield is earning far less than the going rate for starting quarterbacks, with many pulling in north of $45 million per season. Take Trevor Lawrence and Kyler Murray, for example. Lawrence is tied for the second-highest among quarterbacks at $55 million per year, while Murray earns around $46 million annually.
Mayfield has led his teams to three different postseason appearances and has won a pair of games with a 2-3 postseason record. Lawrence has been to the postseason just once and has won a game and lost a game. Murray has been to the postseason just once and has a 0-1 record.
Statistically, Mayfield also holds his own. He boasts a career quarterback rating of 91.2, better than Lawrence’s 85.0. He’s thrown for more yards and touchdowns than both Lawrence and Murray, despite changing teams multiple times and often playing in less stable environments.
Still, in today’s NFL, quarterback contracts are less about what a player has done and more about what a team believes he can do. Whether or not a player has proven playoff success or elite stats, if a team sees him as “the guy,” the paycheck usually follows.
Former NFL running back LeSean McCoy doesn’t seem to be a fan of average quarterbacks being paid top-dollar contracts. Speaking about Trevor Lawrence’s contract, McCoy questioned what he’s done so far to earn what he is making.
“When I look at Trevor Lawrence, what makes you want to pay him so much money?” McCoy questioned. “The problem nowadays is that we are focusing only on the quarterbacks, so now if you are a decent quarterback, you are getting paid all this money.”
Some will even say Purdy got overpaid because he was surrounded by one of the most talented rosters in the NFL. Still, Purdy has the record and stats, and playoff experience to be paid as a top quarterback in the NFL.
As for Mayfield, he’s gone 19-15 the last two seasons as Tampa’s quarterback while throwing a career-high 41 touchdown passes this season. If Tampa Bay wants, they could extend him now or make him one of the highest-paid quarterbacks next offseason.
