Back in the day of the old NFL, the best player at each position was given the best contract, and every other player was paid less than their contract. That was the bar: to get paid the best, you had to be the best. It didn’t mean having one great, extraordinary year before contract talks and getting paid enormous money; the player had to be consistently great, year in and year out.
I’m going to be generous and say there are approximately 15 great quarterbacks in the league. Seven quarterbacks are in the AFC: Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, C.J. Stroud, Trevor Lawrence, Justin Herbert, and eight quarterbacks are in the NFC: Matthew Stafford, Dak Prescott, Jared Goff, Jalen Hurts, Sam Darnold, Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, and Baker Mayfield.
Roll with me on this. These are the quarterbacks with huge contracts.
The time is to compare apples to apples when it comes to quarterbacks. The ultimate goal is to win the Super Bowl. In the NFL, that’s all that matters. Outside of the G.O.A.T., Tom Brady and, as of now, runner-up Joe Montana, who, out of these groups of quarterbacks, would rank third in your opinion (not fair to name your favorite)?
The obvious choice is Mahomes. Why? Mahomes has played in seven AFC Championship Games and won five, and he has played in five Super Bowls and won three. He has also been the Super Bowl MVP in all three wins..
What about the other 14 QBs on my list?
Only one, Hurts, has had two Super Bowl appearances, winning one. Stafford has one Super Bowl appearance and won that game. Burrow has had two AFC Championship game appearances, winning one, and one Super Bowl appearance. Darnold has had one Super Bowl appearance, which he won. Goff has two NFC Championship appearances (winning one) and one Super Bowl appearance (with the Rams), but didn’t win. Allen has two AFC Championship appearances. Jackson was in one AFC Championship game. Daniels had one NFC Championship appearance.
None of the other quarterbacks on my list have participated in a conference championship game or Super Bowl. They are Stroud, Lawrence, Herbert, Prescott, Williams, and Mayfield.
I’m all for capitalism, 100%, get all you can get, but I’m also a realist, too. If your resume doesn’t stack up to this decade’s G.O.A.T. quarterback (Mahomes), then you shouldn’t get paid like Mahomes.
I get it. But when quarterbacks account for 20-25% of a team’s salary cap, team owners will eventually say, “Until your resume is comparable to Mahomes, take our offer or go play for another team.”
Doing that will show fans whether a player is in it for the money or to achieve the ultimate goal, a Super Bowl Championship.
