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Who Is the Highest Paid QB in NFL History? (Updated 2024/2025)
It is good to be an NFL quarterback. The 14 highest-paid players in the NFL are quarterbacks, and more lucrative quarterbacks are likely to be signed in the coming months and years as the list of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL continues to change.
Patrick Mahomes, who has led the Kansas City Chiefs to three Super Bowl titles and five Super Bowl appearances, is just 13th in the average annual salary among NFL quarterbacks. Two of the quarterbacks ahead of him are not even certain to play for their current team in the 2025 season.
Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills recently signed a six-year contract extension worth $330 million. One has to wonder how the star quarterbacks of the 1960s and 1970s viewed contracts like the one Allen agreed to.
Let’s take a closer look at the NFL quarterback salaries.
Breaking Down NFL Quarterback Salaries
There are various ways to track the list of highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL.
Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys earns $60 million per season, the highest annual salary in the NFL. Prescott’s cap hit of nearly $53 million is also the highest among NFL players.
Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns was guaranteed $230 million when he signed with the team, nearly $100 million more than any other player.
Allen’s $250 million is the most guaranteed money for a current NFL player. Joe Burrow accounts for 24.5% of the Cincinnati Bengals’ salary cap, and no other player accounts for a higher percentage of his team’s annual salary cap number.
Bart Starr of the Green Bay Packers was the first quarterback to lead his team to back-to-back Super Bowl titles. When Starr earned an annual salary of $100,000, that was huge news. One thing that hasn’t changed is that the quarterback position leads the way among the top-paid NFL positions.
It was his contemporary Joe Namath of the New York Jets, who signed a contract worth nearly $500,000 per season, who began the path for today’s huge NFL quarterback salaries.
What About The Super Bowl Quarterbacks?
All the money in the world can’t guarantee Super Bowl glory.
No current quarterback has enjoyed the thrill of winning the Super Bowl more frequently than Mahomes.
His cap hit was $5.3 and $7.4 million in his first two NFL seasons. Things changed when he signed a 10-year contract worth $450 million. Some adjustments have opened up more cap space for the Chiefs to maintain a championship-level roster.
Mahomes’ bid for another Super Bowl ended with a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles and Jalen Hurts.
Hurts is playing under a five-year, $255 million contract, and the former second-round pick is not eligible to be an unrestricted free agent until 2029. Hurts barely makes the cut to be among the top 10 highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL.
The NFL odds and lines list Hurts and the Eagles with the shortest odds of winning the Super Bowl.
Who is the highest-paid quarterback in NFL history?
Although he has yet to lead the Dallas Cowboys into the Super Bowl, Dak Prescott sets the standard with an average salary of $60 million per season. He is the answer to the question of who is the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL.
Which quarterback has signed the largest contract in NFL history?
Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs signed a 10-year contract worth $450 million.
What factors determine a quarterback’s salary in the NFL?
Playoff success and whether a team is willing to go all in on signing a player expected to be a franchise quarterback and the face of the franchise impact the length and value of a contract.
Who are the top five highest-paid quarterbacks?
Prescott leads the way at $60 million based on the average salary per season. At the same time, Buffalo’s Josh Allen, Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow, Green Bay’s Jordan Love, and Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence are each set to earn $55 million during the 2025 NFL season.
How do NFL quarterback contracts compare to other positions?
On most teams, the starting quarterback is the highest-paid player position.
