NFL: Predicting the next 5 massive QB contracts after Patrick Mahomes deal

Baker Mayfield contract prediction: Five years, $160 million

In the wake of the Mahomes extension, Cleveland.com’s Dan Labbe made the astute observation that Baker Mayfield can only look but so much at that deal. Comparing the Chiefs quarterback’s first three years to the Browns quarterback’s first two seasons leaves the latter wanting quite a bit. Thus, Mayfield won’t be signing a deal that rivals Mahomes’.

The truth is that the notion of giving Mayfield any kind of big contract extension after the 2019 season is kind of terrifying. After setting the rookie touchdown pass record (27) the prior year, he and the Browns regressed as he threw 21 interceptions with just 22 touchdowns. Even worse, he looked bad in the process. Subsequently, the 2020 season is critically important for the Browns young signal-caller.

Anyone who didn’t immediately count Mayfield out at the first sign of struggles, though, can realize that he’s due for a huge bounce-back in 2020, after which he’ll be eligible for his extension. With the immense improvement on the offensive line and the arrival of head coach Kevin Stefanski, the young quarterback should be in line for major positive regression, especially with the weapons still around him in Odell Beckham Jr., Nick Chubb, Jarvis Landry and Austin Hooper.

Mayfield will be eligible for a contract extension after the 2020 season and, if he does indeed show his merits as I expect him to, the Browns will be more inclined to pay him. However, a five-year extension with an annual value of $32 million seems more likely for him in Cleveland than anything near Mahomes’ deal. That would still make him a top-10 paid quarterback, which would feel right given his status as the No. 1 pick from the 2018 NFL Draft.