NFL Teams Not Enjoying Dividends From Big Money QB Investments -- With One Notable Exception

Jared Goff? Forget him. He's the outlier. He completed 18-of-18 passes on Monday Night Football and made history. So, he doesn't even belong in this story, except where we say it doesn't apply to him.

But every other big-name, big-contract quarterback that joined the $50 million-a-year-club the last couple of seasons? 

This is about them. And it ain't great.

Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) looks on at warm up before the Seattle Seahawks game at Ford Field in Detroit on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024.

NFL Teams Paid A Lot Of $50M QBs

We understand it would have been unthinkable for the Cincinnati Bengals to speak to Joe Burrow's agent last year and say they're not making one the NFL's best quarterbacks the league's highest-paid player.

It would have been unwise, even for Jerry Jones, to not extend Dak Prescott's contract and make him the NFL's new highest-paid player last month. 

It would have been unthinkable for the Jacksonville Jaguars not to pay Trevor Lawrence. Or the Miami Dolphins not to pay Tua Tagovailoa. Or the Philadelphia Eagles not to pay Jalen Hurts.

Go down the list of the league's highest-paid quarterbacks – a veritable $50-million-per-year-salary club – and there is not one NFL general manager who would have balked at paying any player on that list.

But those decisions have delivered unspectacular results so far.

ARLINGTON, TX - SEPTEMBER 22: Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys looks on after a play against the Baltimore Ravens during the first half of an NFL football game at AT&T Stadium on September 22, 2024 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)

Trevor Lawrence Playing Poorly

We've just passed the first month of the NFL season and most of the league's highest-paid quarterbacks are not enjoying the success they or their teams expected.

Prescott, the NFL's highest paid player, averages a milestone $60 million per season. But the Cowboys are 2-2. He's playing fine, but he's not lifting his club to great success.

Lawrence, averaging $55 million per season, is on an 0-4 team. And what's worse, he's part of the problem because he's completing only 53.3 percent of his passes and his passer rating is a subpar 78.9.

"I don't think I'm speaking out of turn when I say that he knows he's got to make those throws," coach Doug Pederson said of his quarterback's miss on a potential touchdown Sunday against the Texans. "Those are NFL, big-time throws. So, we’ve just got to keep working."

Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen Hurts hands off to RB Saquon Barkley against the New Orleans Saints at Caesars Superdome. (Stephen Lew-Imagn Images)

Burrow, Hurts, Jackson Not Above .500

Burrow's Bengals? They're 1-3 and tied for last place in the AFC North. So it's another example of a team success being a sum of its parts rather than an article the quarterback simply carries at will.

Hurts and the Eagles are 2-2, and he's struggling with fumbles. 

Lamar Jackson and the Ravens are 2-2 and had to rally to consecutive wins to get there.

And, yes, even Jackson has heard some criticism about his solid but not spectacular performances early on.

Willis Better Results Than Love

Jordan Love got his $55 million per year extension in July. And his team is only 2-2. But you want to read something stunning about that record?

The Packers have won both their games with backup Malik Willis starting while Love was injured. And the two games the Packers lost happened when Love started.

Of the nine quarterbacks averaging $50 million or more this season, only one is on a team that is above .500 – Goff, whose Lions are 3-1.

So what does this all mean? It means the investment these NFL teams have made in the form of monstrous contracts for so-called franchise quarterbacks has so far delivered no consistent success in the win-loss column.

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - SEPTEMBER 15: Sam Darnold #14 of the Minnesota Vikings warms up before the game against the San Francisco 49ers at U.S. Bank Stadium on September 15, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings beat the 49ers 23-17. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)

Consider The Vikings Approach 

And several of those quarterbacks are not paying dividends in their individual stat sheet, either.

Meanwhile, the Minnesota Vikings are only one of two undefeated teams in the entire league. And they're doing it with starting quarterback Sam Darnold, who signed a one-year contract worth $10 million for 2024.

It's nutty.

An enormous investment on a great quarterback by a great team is, so far this season, not guaranteeing that the quarterback nor the team will be great. 

And sometimes that is because the players that get paid are not invulnerable. Rich quarterbacks, you see, get injured, too.

Sep 12, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) walks off the field with training staff after an apparent injury during the second half against the Buffalo Bills at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

Injuries Take Toll On Tagovailoa, Love

Tagovailoa is the NFL's fifth-highest paid player. The Dolphins are 1-1 in the games he started, but he's on injured reserve now with his third NFL concussion since 2022.

Tagovailoa has already missed two games, and he'll miss at least two more before doctors fully determine if he's cleared and can return to play.

And, yes, professional football is a violent sport. So, sometimes these super players with super salaries find themselves worthless to the team because they're injured.

That is Tagovailoa's situation now. It was Burrow's situation last season. It was Love's circumstance for a couple of games. Justin Herbert, another $50 million man, missed four games last season and has been playing hurt the past couple of weeks this year in consecutive losses. 

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) leaves the field after a 31-29 loss to the Minnesota Vikings Sunday, September 29, 2024, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Will Teams Stop Paying? Nope

And what is the point here?

The point is that, except for the Lions, the success these NFL teams expected when they signed their quarterbacks to huge contracts has so far not manifested.

And let's agree, teams aren't going to look at this data – assuming it continues throughout the season – and decide they're going to stop paying their promising quarterbacks in the future.

The 49ers will definitely pay Brock Purdy next year. The Texans will eventually do the same with C.J. Stroud.

But will that immediately put those teams on a straight path to success? It hasn't seemed that way so far this season.