NEWSLETTER
Since the start of the NFL’s new league year in March, we’ve seen Kirk Cousins, Jared Goff, and Trevor Lawrence sign monstrous deals. Cousins’ came in free agency, while new paper for Goff and Lawerence came by way of extensions with their current teams. To say that the NFL quarterback market has blown up in recent years would be quite the understatement.
And I’m not sure if there is anything that displays the growth better than this graphic:
Look how much salaries have grown for quarterbacks.
Sure, every position has seen an uptick in pay. NFL business is booming, after all.
Keep an eye on Jordan Love’s contract situation with the Green Bay Packers
Overall, I see the boom in quarterback contracts as being good news for the league — as well as the next generation of players who figure to reap the benefits of the NFL raking in cash at astronomical rates. Among those players is Packers quarterback Jordan Love, who is one of a handful of quarterbacks that could be in line for the league’s first $60 million per year contract.
I would’ve never expected to write those words at this time last year. Heck, there were moments early during the 2023 season in which I wondered if Green Bay was going to be in a position to draft a first-round quarterback. But whatever quarterbacking devil magic the Packers keep cooking up continues to wreak havoc in the NFC North. And as a result, they’ll have to pay Love.
The Green Bay Packers are working on a contract extension for quarterback Jordan Love.
Packers General Manaer Brian Gutekunst (via 97.3 The Game) says he wants to get a new deal done before the start of training camp, which begins in 28 days for that team in Wisconsin. And for what it’s worth, Love is in the same boat and has expressed optimism (h/t ESPN) that an extension will be ironed out by the time it rolls around. I suppose the only thing left to the imagination is how big the deal could be. If you’ve met me, you know my imagination can get out of hand.
I used to hope that Green Bay would be in a position where it had to pay their quarterback an absurd amount of money that would be so ludicrous that it would tie up their cap space and keep the Packers from building out a truly competitive team. Unfortunately, Love showed that he can play ball last year. He completed 64.2 percent of his passes, threw for 4,159 yards, and tossed 32 touchdowns. To give those numbers some perspective that’ll truly make your stomach turn: No Bears quarterback has ever thrown for 4,000+ yards or 30+ touchdowns. And in his first year as a starter in the NFL, Jordan Love did both of those things. Gross.
So, instead of the Packers being in a sticky wicket, there are genuine conversations about their QB1 being the first NFL signal caller to land a $60 million contract. Based on Love’s play, there is some merit to the conversation. And to make things that much more annoying, Green Bay will be able to comfortably pay Love at (or above) market value because they have a collection of wide receivers on ridiculously cheap rookie deals. They might not have a true WR1 (not that Love minds) in Green Bay, but that squad is throwing receivers at opposing secondaries in waves. It makes me glad the Bears have invested as much in defensive backs as they have.
NFL quarterback salaries are on the rise, but who is getting the next big payday?
So … who will be the first quarterback to reach that $60 million per year mark? I have some ideas:
I thought about including reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson and Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes. However, their contracts were signed recently. Matthew Stafford was inconsideration, too, but he is getting up there in age. Could Tua Tagovailoa get there? I doubt it. Not with Tyreek Hill set for a big pay day.
The Bears haven’t given out a huge quarterback contract since handing over a seven-year contract that could have been worth up to $126 million to Jay Cutler in 2014. Since then, the only noteworthy quarterback contract the franchise has had on its books is the Mike Glennon deal from 2017. There was hope that Mitchell Trubisky or Justin Fields would play their way into second contracts. Obviously, things didn’t pan out for either first-round pick. But that won’t keep us from dreaming on Caleb Williams playing well enough to do so in the future.
We’ve got a long time until that is on our radar. But there is nothing wrong with keeping it in mind. Then again, it’ll be hard to escape when new quarterback extensions keep dropping at a high rate.
