Andrew Luck has signed a deal that will make him the highest-paid player in NFL history -- $140 million over six years. That may seem like a lot, but he probably should have gotten a lot more.
It’s hard for anybody to wrap their heads around a number like $140 million, but we can compare Luck to the other quarterbacks around the league. And earlier in this offseason, Kirk Cousins was franchise tagged by Washington, guaranteeing him almost $20 million this year. And Brock Osweiler and Sam Bradford signed contracts averaging about $18 million per year. If those guys are worth that much, isn’t Luck worth a lot more than $24.6 million per year?
| QUARTERBACKS AVERAGING OVER $10 MILLION | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player | Team | Avg / Yr |
| Andrew Luck | Colts | $24.59 |
| Joe Flacco | Ravens | $22.13 |
| Aaron Rodgers | Packers | $22.00 |
| Russell Wilson | Seahawks | $21.90 |
| Ben Roethlisberger | Steelers | $21.85 |
| Eli Manning | Giants | $21.00 |
| Philip Rivers | Chargers | $20.81 |
| Cam Newton | Panthers | $20.76 |
| Matt Ryan | Falcons | $20.75 |
| Tom Brady | Patriots | $20.50 |
| Drew Brees | Saints | $20.00 |
| Kirk Cousins | Washington | $19.95 |
| Ryan Tannehill | Dolphins | $19.25 |
| Colin Kaepernick | 49ers | $19.00 |
| Jay Cutler | Bears | $18.10 |
| Brock Osweiler | Texans | $18.00 |
| Tony Romo | Cowboys | $18.00 |
| Matt Stafford | Lions | $17.67 |
| Sam Bradford | Eagles | $17.50 |
| Alex Smith | Chiefs | $17.00 |
| Carson Palmer | Cardinals | $16.50 |
| Andy Dalton | Bengals | $16.00 |
| Nick Foles | Rams | $12.25 |
Average quarterback salaries come from OverTheCap.com.
Luck most certainly is worth a lot more than $24.6 million per year. That is, if the Colts were to simply release him today, making him an unrestricted free agent, some quarterback-needy team would probably be happy to give him a contract north of $40 million per year. It’s the most valuable position on the field, and here’s a young, talented franchise guy who’s going to be great for a lot of years.
The NFL salary cap keeps going up and up. It’s grown from $120 million per team to $155 million over the last five years (and increase of 30 percent) and quarterback contracts haven’t kept up.
| NFL SALARY CAP | |
|---|---|
| Year | Maximum team salary |
| 1994 | $64.6 |
| 1995 | $37.1 |
| 1996 | $40.7 |
| 1997 | $41.5 |
| 1998 | $52.4 |
| 1999 | $57.3 |
| 2000 | $62.2 |
| 2001 | $67.4 |
| 2002 | $71.1 |
| 2003 | $75.0 |
| 2004 | $80.6 |
| 2005 | $85.5 |
| 2006 | $102.0 |
| 2007 | $109.0 |
| 2008 | $116.0 |
| 2009 | $123.0 |
| 2010 | Uncapped |
| 2011 | $120.0 |
| 2012 | $120.6 |
| 2013 | $123.0 |
| 2014 | $133.0 |
| 2015 | $143.3 |
| 2016 | $155.3 |
The system of the draft, restricted free agency and franchise tags holds down salaries. You just don’t see quarterbacks hitting the open market. Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers and Ben Roethlisberger are all making about $22 million per year, but many teams would love to pay a lot more for those guys but have never got the chance.
The other factor is that at least some quarterbacks intentionally are settling for less than their true worth. By agreeing to take less money, they leave the team with more cap space to put better pieces around them. Tom Brady, most famously, is averaging only $20.5 million. He’s sacrificing some money to give himself a better chance of winning games and maybe adding another Super Bowl.
—Ian Allan