Predicting the next massive NFL quarterback contracts with Patrick Mahomes signed.
Patrick Mahomes has reset the NFL quarterback market, as we always knew he would. The Kansas City Chiefs signed the 2018 MVP and Super Bowl LIV MVP to a 10-year, $450 million contract extension that, with the two years left on his rookie deal and incentives, could pay him more than $500 million over the next 12 seasons.
It’s little shock that the Chiefs ponied up to pay Mahomes as soon as he was eligible for an extension. After three years of service in the NFL, they locked him down as soon as they could get the numbers right. And in doing so, Mahomes and Kansas City have now paved the way for the next big-time quarterback contracts to be signed over the next few years, some sooner than others.
To be sure, no player in the NFL given what we’ve currently seen from them is going to match the Patrick Mahomes contract. Getting paid $45 million annually over the 10-year extension is untouchable. In fact, you could also argue that the roughly $39.5 million per year that he’ll make over the first five seasons of his extension also won’t be touched by new deals.
So then, what will the next wave of young quarterbacks make on their new deals whenever they sign them? We’re going to predict the contracts for the next five major NFL quarterback contracts. Before we get into that, it’s worth noting that 2018 first-round picks Josh Allen and Sam Darnold were left out of this exercise. The former still has individual question marks while the latter has yet to prove himself in addition to not having a normal season either.
Instead, we’re going to be predicting the contracts for Dak Prescott, Deshaun Watson, Lamar Jackson, Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray with their respective teams as they’ll be coming down the line over the next handful of years. We’ll go chronologically in the order that they will most likely sign.