With NFL free agency in full swing, it is hard to ignore the quarterback pay scale. As it stands, the top four highest-paid quarterbacks in the league are now Kirk Cousins, Jimmy Garoppolo, Matthew Stafford and Derek Carr.
Do we see a Super Bowl champion quarterback among these names? Of course not. But it gets worse.
The two highest paid QBs have zero playoff wins between them. Lol. Happy NFL new year!
— Kalyn Kahler (@kalynkahler) March 14, 2018
Actually, the top FOUR have zero playoff wins combined. Which is less than Tim Tebow has … all by himself. https://t.co/gxdfykTpX0
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 14, 2018
Happy new year indeed. The Minnesota Vikings just made Cousins the highest-paid player in the league, and he now will earn a bloated annual salary of $28 million, fully guaranteed. He has been in two playoff games and lost both.
When it comes to Garoppolo’s $27.5 million annual salary, the 49ers had to pay an exorbitant price to keep him long term. If they did not, another team would have. Jimmy G. is talented, but he literally has seven official NFL starts under his belt.
Stafford as the third-highest paid makes the most sense here. He’s got an arm like cannon and is the Lions’ all-time leading passer with 34,749 yards on the books. It is just too bad Detroit can barely get into the postseason, let alone win a playoff game.
Lastly, Carr makes a lofty $25 million and has not stepped foot in a postseason game. What’s also a bit worrisome is he regressed across the board in 2017.
All the while, the eighth-highest paid quarterback is Joe Flacco at $22.13 million per year. He earns more than Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Ben Roethlisberger and Tom Brady.
Those top four quarterbacks we mentioned won’t stay the highest-paid forever. But, it is what it is and things look terribly lopsided on the quarterback pay scale for now.