It’s been a busy offseason for NFL quarterbacks getting paid (besides Dak Prescott).
On Friday, the Miami Dolphins and Inexperienced Bay Packers respectively prolonged Tua Tagovailoa and Jordan Love past their rookie contracts. Tua’s common per 12 months is simply over $53 million, whereas Love is tied with Trevor Lawrence as the best paid participant in NFL historical past at a cool $55 million. Jared Goff was additionally prolonged to the tune of a $53 million/12 months deal, whereas Kirk Cousins agreed to a $45 million/12 months free agent contract, so it isn’t simply youthful QBs receiving hefty paydays.
Primarily based on the OverTheCap.com desk, Seattle Seahawks starter Geno Smith is the twentieth highest paid quarterback within the NFL. Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, whose prolonged and profitable extensions had been signed a couple of years again, are out of the top-10 fully. I do know Corbin Smith made the case that Smith is the perfect “bang for buck” QB within the NFL, however Mahomes needs to be No. 1.
Getting again to Geno, nevertheless, it’s nonetheless price acknowledging what a cut price he’s and what meaning for the Seahawks. These are the one projected beginning quarterbacks with a decrease common per 12 months than Smith:
Gardner Minshew ($12.5 million/yr) – Las Vegas Raiders
Sam Darnold ($10 million/yr) – Minnesota Vikings
Caleb Williams ($9.871 million/yr) – Chicago Bears
Bryce Younger ($9.488 million/yr) – Carolina Panthers
Jayden Daniels ($9.436 million/yr) – Washington Commanders
C.J. Stroud ($9.069 million/yr) – Houston Texans
Anthony Richardson ($8.498 million/yr) – Indianapolis Colts
Jacoby Brissett ($8 million/yr) – New England Patriots
Bo Nix ($4.653 million/yr) – Denver Broncos
Will Levis ($2.385 million/yr) – Tennessee Titans
Russell Wilson ($1.21 million/yr) – Pittsburgh Steelers
Brock Purdy ($934,253/yr) – San Francisco 49ers
Widespread themes? All of those QBs are both on rookie contracts, backup-level guys who’re getting short-term starter cash, or Russell Wilson, who can signal for the vet minimal as a result of the Denver Broncos are paying him a king’s ransom to not play for them anymore.
Smith was already a cut price on the time of his extension and is trying much more like one now. Whereas totally acknowledging that his journey has been uncommon, he’s in that zone the place he’s clearly, at worst, a league-average quarterback whose wage just isn’t outlandish. At his finest, he can produce top-10 outcomes properly above his worth. Even for those who acknowledge his 2025 cap quantity jumps to $38.5 million, that’s nonetheless solely thirteenth and possibly will decrease pending what the 49ers do with Brock Purdy.
Would it not be preferable to have a younger, potential celebrity quarterback on a rookie contract? Positive. It’s the NFL’s nice cheat code for competition beneath the present CBA. The Seahawks already did that, and possibly if the Broncos had misplaced one other sport or two we may’ve seen Seattle draft Richardson or Stroud. However being cheap in itself is barely part of the equation, and I don’t imagine everybody ought to solely choose one method to attempt to contend for the playoffs and/or a Tremendous Bowl.
Whether or not you view Geno as a bridge quarterback or one thing of a Matt Hasselbeck-type franchise quarterback, I imagine the best way his contract scenario has performed out is a testomony to Smith’s enchancment but in addition John Schneider’s negotiating. Maybe Smith might be a catalyst for a extra wise degree of quarterback contract the place there are fewer gigantic gaps between rookie contracts and the highest of the road offers.
