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Quarterbacks in the NFL are one of the highest paid positions in all of American sports, and rightfully so: in America’s most popular sport, it’s virtually impossible to win at the highest level without an elite quarterback.
Since the 2002 Super Bowl was won by journeyman QB Brad Johnson and the Tampa Bay Bucs, the quarterbacks to win a Super Bowl in the NFL are as follows: Tom Brady (7x), Ben Roethlisberger (2x), Peyton Manning (2x), Eli Manning (2x), Drew Brees, Joe Flacco, Nick Foles, Patrick Mahomes (3x), Matthew Stafford, and Jalen Hurts.
Of those ten quarterbacks, seven of them are guaranteed to be inducted to the Hall of Fame, with only Joe Flacco and Nick Foles not being in contention. If Jalen Hurts continues to reach and win Super Bowls at this rate, he’ll be a Hall of Famer, too.
Given that having an elite quarterback costs a bit of money, it’s caused a bit of chaos in the league’s top ten highest-paid QBs by salary, as teams are forced to give their QB an elite-level contract if they *think* they can be the guy.
That economic reality has led to the top five highest-paid QBs in the NFL being Dak Prescott, Trevor Lawrence, Jordan Love, Joe Burrow, and Tua Tagovailoa. Those five QBs have one Super Bowl appearance between them — Burrow in 2021.
top-12 QBs by average salary:
1. $60M – Dak Prescott
t2. $55M – Trevor Lawrence
t2. $55M – Jordan Love
t2. $55M – Joe Burrow
5. $53.1M – Tua Tagovailoa
6. $53M – Jared Goff
7. $52.5M – Justin Herbert
8. $52M – Lamar Jackson
9. $51M – Jalen Hurts
10. $46.1M – Kyler Murray
11.…— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) February 24, 2025
Hurts, who just won the Super Bowl with the Eagles and was named MVP of the big game, comes in ninth on the list at $51 million per season. Patrick Mahomes, on the other hand, is tied for 12th at $45 million per season.
This is further evidence of why being able to build a competitive team around a quarterback on a rookie contract is so key.