Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen signed some of the highest contract extensions in NFL history, but less than a few years into it, they may no longer hold the top salaries in the league.
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Kyler Murray inked a massive five-year, $230..5 million deal with the Arizona Cardinals, setting the market for other major extensions in the future.
Deshaun Watson broke the market first, signing a fully guaranteed $230 million contract with the Cleveland Brown, the first of its kind. Now, with several other star quarterbacks in line to sign extensions, Murray and Watson’s extensions spell trouble for quarterbacks who thought they’d be the biggest money makers in the league.
Murray’s deal includes $160 million in guarantees. Several quarterbacks were eagerly watching Murray’s situation with the Cardinals play out. Many believe that Murray’s deal is an overpay. He hasn’t won a single playoff game, and he hasn’t taken his game to the level some of the other younger quarterbacks have.
Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen’s salaries could tumble down the order
Kyler Murray’s extension deal is the biggest headline for now, but there will surely be other quarterbacks who will look to get a better deal than Murray.
For what Murray’s worth, he’s a great quarterback. His dual threat ability is off the charts, and he definitely has the potential to be one of the best quarterbacks in the league.
However, he’s not at Lamar Jackson’s level yet. Jackson is going to sign an extension sooner or later and if Murray can get $230 million, Jackson will surely demand more.
The same goes for Justin Herbert who’s had one of the best starts to a quarterback career ever. What about Joe Burrow who took the Bengals to the Super Bowl? If he finds more playoff success, won’t he demand more money too?
Russell Wilson may stake a claim to a massive deal if he leads the Broncos to success. Denver is desperate to find Peyton Manning’s successor, and they may have just done that.
The point is Mahomes, who has an average salary of $45 million and Josh Allen who has an average salary of $43 million (in 2023), may just find their way in the top ten salaries in the league.
One NFL GM said, “[Mahomes and Allen] might barely be in the top 10 in a year, but I’d look at the next 10. How many of those are $40-$45 million [in average salary]? Maybe three or four? Then a middle-of-the-road quarterback costs $30-35 million?”
“If that’s where it’s going, I think more teams will just look to invest a draft pick in a starter. That middle class quarterback is going to be an interesting number in a few years.”
“Teams don’t even want to pay Jimmy Garoppolo [$24 million] and he’s better than quite a few current starters. Now the curve says that’s going to be a $30 million guy? There’s going to be problems with that.”
The market is exploding for quarterbacks and Mahomes and Allen are about to find out just how big the explosion will be.
