The quarterback is the most important position on the gridiron. A great QB can be the difference between winning and losing, which is why teams are willing to take big risks and pour massive investments into one player, hoping it will eventually pay off. Still, there are no guarantees. Winning the ultimate prize, the Super Bowl, requires much more than just a star signal-caller.
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The NFL has become a quarterback-driven league, and that reality is reflected in the paychecks. The ten highest-paid athletes in the league all play the same position. With revenues booming and the salary cap climbing year after year, franchises are spending more than ever on their shot-callers. Yet, despite the faith and money invested in them, none of these top earners has delivered a Super Bowl victory so far.
So, who makes up this list? Dak Prescott leads the way at $60 million, followed by Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Jordan Love, and Trevor Lawrence at $55 million each. Tua Tagovailoa comes in at $53.1 million, while Jared Goff and Brock Purdy are tied at $53 million. Rounding out the top ten are Justin Herbert at $52.5 million and Lamar Jackson at $52 million.
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Most of the league’s top-earning quarterbacks haven’t even reached the Super Bowl. Of the current top ten, only Brock Purdy, Joe Burrow, and Jared Goff have played in the big game. Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson have made it as far as the AFC Championship, while Justin Herbert and Tua Tagovailoa are still searching for their first playoff win. Jordan Love and Trevor Lawrence each have just one postseason victory to their name.
What’s surprising is who’s missing from this list: Patrick Mahomes. Despite signing a massive 10-year, $450 million deal in 2020, which at the time made him the highest-paid quarterback in football, his average annual salary of about $45 million now falls short of the top tier. And yet, Mahomes is the only quarterback who has truly repaid his team’s investment, delivering three Super Bowl titles and multiple MVPs to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Mahomes could have easily pushed for a new deal once quarterback salaries skyrocketed past $60 million per year. But instead, he chose a different path.
Much like Tom Brady did in New England, Patrick Mahomes prioritized keeping his team competitive, opting to leave money on the table so the Chiefs could maintain their core around him. Kansas City has rewarded that loyalty by structuring his contract with massive “signing bonuses”, ensuring he still takes home significant guaranteed money.
That’s the reality of the NFL: not every franchise can win the Super Bowl. The best a team can do is maximize its chances, and in today’s league, that starts with investing heavily in the most important position on the field, the quarterback.
