Give me my money: Are NFL contracts way out of hand?

It costs more than ever to retain NFL talent these days, and players are maximizing every dollar of their earning potential. Employees are well within their right to make as much money as possible, but current NFL salary figures are staggering. Does the league have a problem with out of control player contracts?

Resetting the market has become a term that NFL fans are pretty familiar with these days. Each time a player at a position receives the most money in NFL history, the next player whose contract is scheduled to be renegotiated has a gaudy baseline with which to work. It’s a pattern that has driven the economics of the NFL for years.

Just before the 2024 NFL season was set to begin, Sporting News broke quarterback salaries down in a few different ways. The passers earning the most money this season aren’t exactly always discussed as the best quarterbacks in the NFL.

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Dak Prescott has the highest annual average salary in 2024, topping out at $65 million. Rounding out the top five are Joe Burrow and Trevor Lawrence at $55 million, and Tua Tagovailoa and Jared Goff at $53 million each.

As expressed earlier, one-upping the player that got paid previously has been the norm in the NFL. It doesn’t mean this is good business for the NFL, however.

Many of the passers who received gargantuan paydays had legitimate questions surrounding their ability to lead their team to a Super Bowl. Doug Gottlieb of Fox Sports Radio said, “I don’t think Tua Tagovailoa is anywhere near an elite quarterback. I don’t… I just don’t.”

Similarly, 1075 The Fan’s website criticized the Jacksonville Jaguars for signing Trevor Lawrence to a hefty extension. They believe the team rewarded mediocrity, and that this trend is a bad thing for the NFL.

Many fans can agree that some of the highest paid players aren’t the best ones. So why do NFL teams continue to cave into player demands in this regard? The answer largely has to do with the immense pressure they face.

The spotlight on NFL teams shines bright when it comes to being competitive. Franchises, and perhaps more specifically head coaches, cannot afford to wait around for three to five years to contend. Front offices also need sufficient talent on the field to accurately assess their roster.

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If teams like the Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars decided to part ways with Tagovailoa or Lawrence, respectively, they would face the prospect of rebuilding without attractive draft capital. They would have to start fresh, which would likely anchor them to the bottom of the standings, and cost individuals their jobs.

The end game turns out to be a relegation to the middle, where teams have a large portion of their salary cap eaten up by one player. They’ll then try to skimp around the edges with rookies and low cost players.

While quarterbacks grab the headlines with regard to earnings, wide receiver compensation has taken a notable leap as well. The Washington Post declared this as the era of $30 million wideouts. They were interested to see whether this trend would last.

It’s going to be more and more difficult for NFL teams to operate around the margins when just a small group of players makes up the majority of the salary cap. It’ll be fascinating to see whether players sacrifice for the greater good, as Tom Brady so often did during his legendary career.

Sports Illustrated wrote a piece in 2022 confirming that the seven-time Super Bowl winner consistently and continuously took less money than his counterparts with the end goal of winning. Agents and players aren’t programmed to think this way, which is why the pattern of escalating salaries is only likely to continue.

It’s intriguing to think that Dak Prescott is going to make as much money as Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum when the latter’s extension kicks in. NBA regular seasons are 82 games long, whereas NFL regular seasons are 17 games long. Quick math leads someone to realize that’s a multiplier of four times.

Of course, NFL players are in more serious danger when it comes to career-ending and life-altering injuries every time they take the field. Still, it’s fair to wonder whether the ballooning salaries have gone overboard in recent years.

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