$64 million a year. That is the average annual value of Patrick Mahomes’ contract in Over The Cap’s database, the highest for any quarterback and any player in the NFL. Rank the same contracts by guaranteed money, though, and Mahomes drops to 12th of the 15 biggest quarterback deals. Deshaun Watson, 14th by average, moves to first.
That difference is the point of this page. Average per year (APY) tells you a contract’s headline size. The guarantee tells you how much of it the player is certain to collect. We pulled every quarterback contract in Over The Cap’s table on October 28, 2026 and ranked them both ways.
Every notable quarterback contract, ranked by average per year
| Rank | Quarterback | Team | Avg. per year | Total value | Guaranteed | % guaranteed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Patrick Mahomes | Chiefs | $64.00M | $448.0M | $95.5M | 21.3% |
| 2 | Dak Prescott | Cowboys | $60.00M | $240.0M | $129.0M | 53.8% |
| 3 | Jordan Love | Packers | $55.00M | $220.0M | $100.8M | 45.8% |
| 3 | Josh Allen | Bills | $55.00M | $330.0M | $147.0M | 44.5% |
| 3 | Baker Mayfield | Buccaneers | $55.00M | $165.0M | $70.0M | 42.4% |
| 3 | Matt Stafford | Rams | $55.00M | $55.0M | $90.0M* | — |
| 3 | Trevor Lawrence | Jaguars | $55.00M | $275.0M | $142.0M | 51.6% |
| 3 | Joe Burrow | Bengals | $55.00M | $275.0M | $146.5M | 53.3% |
| 9 | Brock Purdy | 49ers | $53.00M | $265.0M | $100.0M | 37.7% |
| 9 | Jared Goff | Lions | $53.00M | $212.0M | $113.6M | 53.6% |
| 11 | Justin Herbert | Chargers | $52.50M | $262.5M | $133.7M | 50.9% |
| 12 | Lamar Jackson | Ravens | $52.00M | $260.0M | $135.0M | 51.9% |
| 13 | Jalen Hurts | Eagles | $51.00M | $255.0M | $110.0M | 43.1% |
| 14 | Deshaun Watson | Browns | $46.00M | $230.0M | $230.0M | 100.0% |
| 15 | Daniel Jones | Colts | $44.00M | $88.0M | $49.5M | 56.2% |
| 16 | Sam Darnold | Seahawks | $33.50M | $100.5M | $37.5M | 37.3% |
| 17 | Aaron Rodgers | Steelers | $22.50M | $22.5M | $22.0M | 97.8% |
| 17 | Malik Willis | Dolphins | $22.50M | $67.5M | $45.0M | 66.7% |
| 19 | Jacoby Brissett | Cardinals | $15.50M | $15.5M | $15.5M | 100.0% |
| 20 | Fernando Mendoza | Raiders | $14.32M | $57.3M | $57.3M | 100.0% |
| 21 | Cam Ward | Titans | $12.21M | $48.8M | $48.8M | 100.0% |
| 22 | Kirk Cousins | Raiders | $11.30M | $11.3M | $11.3M | 100.0% |
| 23 | Justin Fields | Chiefs | $11.00M | $11.0M | $11.0M | 100.0% |
| 24 | Caleb Williams | Bears | $9.87M | $39.5M | $39.5M | 100.0% |
| 25 | Bryce Young | Panthers | $9.49M | $38.0M | $38.0M | 100.0% |
| 26 | Jayden Daniels | Commanders | $9.44M | $37.7M | $37.7M | 100.0% |
| 27 | Drake Maye | Patriots | $9.16M | $36.6M | $36.6M | 100.0% |
| 28 | C.J. Stroud | Texans | $9.07M | $36.3M | $36.3M | 100.0% |
| 29 | Anthony Richardson | Colts | $8.50M | $34.0M | $34.0M | 100.0% |
*Over The Cap lists $90 million guaranteed against a $55 million contract value for Matthew Stafford, so we leave his percentage blank rather than compare figures that don’t measure the same thing. Teams are as Over The Cap lists them on October 28, 2026. The full table has 93 quarterback contracts; each of the rest averages under $8.5 million a year.
Ranked by guaranteed money instead
Watson is the outlier. Deshaun Watson’s $230 million is fully guaranteed, the most guaranteed money of any contract in Over The Cap’s table at any position. Leaving aside Matthew Stafford’s one-year deal, no other quarterback paid $40 million or more a year has more than 56.2% of his contract guaranteed.
Mahomes is the opposite outlier. His $95.5 million guarantee is 21.3% of the $448 million Over The Cap counts, the lowest share among the 14 quarterbacks paid $40 million or more. The median in that group is about 51%. Money that is not guaranteed in an NFL contract is paid only if the player is still on the roster when it comes due, so most of the headline value of Mahomes’ deal depends on Kansas City keeping him.
The usual guarantee is about half. Prescott (53.8%), Goff (53.6%), Burrow (53.3%), Jackson (51.9%), Lawrence (51.6%) and Herbert (50.9%) all cluster just above 50%. Allen’s $147 million is the second-largest guarantee in the sport.
The Super Bowl quarterbacks were bargains
Neither starter in Super Bowl LX was paid in the top tier. Seattle’s Sam Darnold, who won it, averages $33.5 million a year, 16th among quarterbacks. Seattle signed him as a free agent in 2025 after trading Geno Smith, according to Wikipedia’s account of the season. New England’s Drake Maye, the third pick in 2024, was second in MVP voting and is on a rookie deal averaging $9.16 million, roughly one-seventh of what Mahomes makes.
Maye is not unusual. Five quarterbacks taken near the top of the 2023 and 2024 drafts, Caleb Williams, Bryce Young, Jayden Daniels, Maye and C.J. Stroud, are on fully guaranteed rookie contracts worth $9.1 million to $9.9 million a year. The gap between one of those deals and a $55 million veteran is about $45 million a year, money a team can spend elsewhere on the roster.
Seattle’s route was different: a mid-priced veteran quarterback and an elite receiver. Jaxon Smith-Njigba led the league with 1,793 receiving yards in the title season and now has the richest wide receiver contract in football at $42.15 million a year.
The 2026 rookie class
The Las Vegas Raiders took Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza first overall in the 2026 draft. His rookie deal is $57.3 million over four years, fully guaranteed, an average of $14.32 million. Tennessee’s Cam Ward, the No. 1 pick in 2025, averages $12.21 million. Because rookie pay is set by draft slot, both will cost a fraction of a veteran starter until their teams decide on an extension.
Methodology
- Source. Every figure comes from the Over The Cap contracts table, pulled in full on Wednesday, October 28, 2026; we filtered it to the 93 contracts tagged QB.
- APY is Over The Cap’s average per year (total value divided by years). Guaranteed is its total guarantee figure, and % guaranteed is that figure divided by total value.
- Reported totals. For Mahomes we also cite the Associated Press, which reported his reworked deal at $504.75 million through 2033 ($63.1 million a year). The two sources count the contract differently.
- Our arithmetic. Medians, ratios and counts are our own calculations on Over The Cap’s figures.
- Context. Draft positions, Super Bowl LX and award results come from Wikipedia’s articles on the 2026 NFL draft and Super Bowl LX.
The bottom line
The quarterback market has a clear rate: $55 million a year, with about half of it guaranteed. The two contracts that break the pattern are Watson’s, fully guaranteed, and Mahomes’, the most expensive and among the least guaranteed. Last season’s Super Bowl was won by a $33.5 million quarterback and lost by a $9.2 million one. A top-tier contract is the cost of keeping a good quarterback. It is not what decides a title.
More from Absolute Baller:
- Highest-Paid NFL Players 2026: Top 25 Contracts
- NFL Dead Money 2026: Every Team, and the Biggest Charges
- NFL Team Valuations 2026: Record $9.6B Seahawks Sale
- 2026’s Biggest Sports Contracts, Ranked
- Why Pro Athletes Go Broke
Frequently Asked
Who is the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL in 2026?
Patrick Mahomes, at $64 million a year in Over The Cap's database. The Associated Press reported his reworked Chiefs contract on June 10, 2026 at $504.75 million through 2033, an average of $63.1 million. Dak Prescott is second at $60 million a year.
Which NFL quarterback has the most guaranteed money?
Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns, whose $230 million contract is fully guaranteed, according to Over The Cap. Josh Allen ($147 million) and Joe Burrow ($146.5 million) have the next-largest guarantees.
How much is Patrick Mahomes' contract guaranteed?
Over The Cap lists $95.55 million guaranteed on a $448 million contract value, or 21.3%. That is the lowest guaranteed share among the 14 quarterbacks paid $40 million or more a year, where the median is about 51%.
How much do rookie quarterbacks make in the NFL?
First-round quarterbacks are on fixed rookie-scale deals that are fully guaranteed. Over The Cap lists 2026 No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza at $57.3 million over four years ($14.3 million a year) with the Raiders. Caleb Williams ($9.9 million a year), Jayden Daniels ($9.4 million), Drake Maye ($9.2 million) and C.J. Stroud ($9.1 million) are all on rookie deals that pay less than a sixth of the top veteran rate.
How much were the Super Bowl LX quarterbacks paid?
Seattle's Sam Darnold, who won Super Bowl LX, averages $33.5 million a year on a $100.5 million contract, 16th among quarterbacks in Over The Cap's database. New England's Drake Maye is on his rookie deal at about $9.2 million a year. Both are well below the $55 million tier where six quarterbacks sit.