Quarterback is the most important position in all of sports, and these five players are the highest-paid at the position. A recent extension for Detroit Lions QB Jared Goff may have just vaulted him into the top-five highest-paid QBs in the NFL. There isn't any debate just how important this position is for a given franchise.
With a top QB, teams simply won't win. But with the QB contracts being so massive, many QBs are quite overpaid, and other QBs who are performing well on their rookie deals are underpaid until they become eligible for an extension. So, who are the highest paid QBs in the NFL on a per-year basis?
Who are the five highest-paid quarterbacks currently in the NFL?
5. Jalen Hurts - $51 million
Breaking out in 2022, Jalen Hurts has been a dual-threat QB, but definitely took a massive step back in 2023. Could Hurts' 2022 season just have been more of an outlier? If that is the case, the Philadelphia Eagles are in massive trouble.
Hurts will need to bounce back in a big way in 2024, or it might be time to have a tough conversation.
4. Lamar Jackson - $52 million
Winning his second MVP award in 2023, Lamar Jackson is already the best rushing QB in the history of the NFL. His most recent MVP award did some with a bit of controversy, as he didn't exactly fill up the stat sheet like he did during his first MVP campaign in 2019.
Nonetheless, he's the most dynamic athlete the NFL has seen maybe ever and is making $52 million a year from the Baltimore Ravens.
3. Justin Herbert - $52.5 million
Justin Herbert entered the NFL in 2020 as a B+ quarterback and has remained that way his entire career. He's got virtually no playoff experience and doesn't exactly will his team to victory. To me, he's a bigger and stronger version of Kirk Cousins, but he is cashing in like one of the three-best QBs in the NFL.
Justin Herbert makes a bit more than Lamar Jackson.
2. Jared Goff - $53 million
The most recent QB to sign a deal, Jared Goff is getting $53 million per season from the Detroit Lions, a team that he has revived his career with. Goff is the perfect example of a pocket passer. He might not be elite, but it's clear that he's exactly what the city of Detroit needed.
Goff appeared in the Super Bowl in 2018 with the Los Angeles Rams.
1. Joe Burrow - $55 million
The highest paid QB in NFL history is Joe Burrow, who is making $55 million per season from the Cincinnati Bengals. Appearing in the Super Bowl in 2021, Burrow has been the only QB not named Tom Brady to take down Patrick Mahomes in the postseason. However, Burrow has never played a full season, which could be a concern.
Staying healthy is No. 1 for Burrow and the Bengals, as they're among the elites of the NFL when he is in the lineup.