The NFL quarterback contract extensions come fast and furious these days. Each one either bigger or more complicated than the last.
First-round quarterbacks receive fully guaranteed deals with fifth-year options, and their teams spend the first three years trying to build out their rosters before it's time to pay them the really big money. Veterans receive second and third deals that break records for signing bonuses, guaranteed money or average salary. It can be a lot to track. What makes, say, Trevor Lawrence's deal different from Tua Tagovailoa's contract? What did Dak Prescott get in his deal that no one else did, and what does that mean for the Cowboys' salary cap future?
We wanted to dig in on some of these questions and assess each team's quarterback contract situation. Which teams are stuck with their QB deals for years to come? Which deals provide teams with more flexibility? Which teams can escape QB contracts right now, if needed? So what follows is a brief rundown of the QB contract situations throughout the NFL and what they mean to their teams. A couple of quick explanations before we get started, though:
When we say "remaining guarantees," we are counting guaranteed money paid via salary this season and via any salary and/or bonuses in future years. We are not counting signing bonuses or roster bonuses that have already been paid this year. So for example, when you see that Prescott has $47.75 million in remaining guarantees, that doesn't count the $80 million signing bonus he got as part of the extension he signed before the season. That money is already paid and therefore not counted.
One little hedge on this is that we used whole-number salaries for the current season, as opposed to prorating them and taking off the first five weeks' worth. So while technically Daniel Jones has "only" $25.639 million in guaranteed salary still owed to him this season because there are 13 weeks left, we counted his current-year guarantee as the full $35.5 million.
OK let's dive in. We grouped the contract situations by kind and then ranked them within those tiers, from best situation to most questionable.
Jump to a team:
ARI | ATL | BAL | BUF | CAR | CHI | CIN
CLE | DAL | DEN | DET | GB | HOU | IND
JAX | KC | LAC | LAR | LV | MIA | MIN
NE | NO | NYG | NYJ | PHI | PIT | SF
SEA | TB | TEN | WSH
Free and clear
These teams can move on literally whenever they want from their quarterback situation -- even right now. They have perhaps the most manageable circumstances.
1. San Francisco 49ers: Brock Purdy
Signed through: 2025
Remaining guarantees: None
Earliest exit point: 2025 offseason
The last pick of the 2022 draft, Purdy signed a four-year, $3,737,012 contract, of which only the $77,012 signing bonus was guaranteed. Since he was not a first-round pick, his contract does not include a fifth-year option. He will be eligible for an extension after this season and will almost certainly receive one from the 49ers. Purdy's current contract doesn't really bind him to the team in any way -- but his next one will.
Despite the low salary, Purdy has been among the league's top signal-callers. Consider that his 70.6 QBR since 2022 ranks second in the NFL among QBs with at least one full season of play (behind Josh Allen).
2. Pittsburgh Steelers: Justin Fields, Russell Wilson
Fields signed through: 2024
Fields remaining guarantees: $1,616,724
Fields earliest exit point: Basically whenever
Wilson signed through: 2024
Wilson remaining guarantees: $1.21 million
Wilson earliest exit point: Basically whenever
The Steelers' situation couldn't be simpler. Wilson signed a one-year minimum-salary deal because the Broncos are still paying him the rest of his $39 million 2024 salary after releasing him. Fields had one year and $3,233,448 left on his contract when the Bears traded him to Pittsburgh, and half of that was a spring roster bonus. Neither is signed beyond this season, as the Steelers declined Fields' fifth-year option. So Pittsburgh is totally unencumbered -- free to do whatever it wants at the position in 2025 and beyond.
Wilson has yet to play as he nurses a calf injury. Fields, originally the QB2, has helped Pittsburgh to a 3-2 record, but he hasn't played well enough to close the door on Wilson getting an opportunity once healthy.
3. Tennessee Titans: Will Levis
Signed through: 2026
Remaining guarantees: $4,041,205
Earliest exit point: 2025 offseason
Levis was the second pick of the second round of the 2023 draft. He received a four-year, $9,542,162 contract, of which $8,730,957 was fully guaranteed, including a $3,939,752 signing bonus. The only non-guaranteed portion of his contract is $811,205 of his 2026 salary, so the Titans would still owe him a few million bucks if they decided to move on after this season. But the dead cap hit in 2025 would be around $4.8 million, and if they cut him after 2025, it would be about only $2.225 million.
The Titans, with a new coaching staff, are using this season to help determine whether Levis is their quarterback of the future. He currently has four touchdown passes but six interceptions. If the Titans get to the end of this season (or next) and decide they want to look elsewhere, the contract won't keep them from finding a replacement and either cutting him, trading him or keeping him on the roster as a backup. If Levis does play like a franchise QB, he'd be eligible for an extension after the 2025 season and would have a bit of leverage since, because he was not a first-round pick, the team does not hold a fifth-year option on his deal.
4. Las Vegas Raiders: Aidan O'Connell, Gardner Minshew
O'Connell signed through: 2026
O'Connell remaining guarantees: None
O'Connell earliest exit point: Basically whenever
Minshew signed through: 2025
Minshew remaining guarantees: $9 million
Minshew earliest exit point: 2025 offseason
O'Connell was a fourth-round pick in 2023, and the only guaranteed portion of his four-year, $4,349,480 contract was a $509,380 signing bonus. He's making $915,000 this season, $1.03 million in 2025 and $1.145 million in 2026, but again, none of that is guaranteed. The Raiders could cut him after this season, and the dead money hit would be less than $400,000.
Minshew has $3.16 million of his $11.84 million 2025 salary guaranteed, but neither that nor the $15 million dead money hit would prevent Las Vegas from releasing him next spring if it decides he's no longer what it wants under center. In fact, it's likely neither of these guys is the Raiders' long-term answer. Fortunately, neither has a contract that would stand in the way of the Raiders bringing in someone else.
Year-to-year veterans
Either the team or the player can move on after this season, if they desire. Teams have some flexibility here.
1. Seattle Seahawks: Geno Smith
Signed through: 2025
Remaining guarantees: $12.7 million
Earliest exit point: 2025 offseason
Smith signed a three-year, $75 million contract with the Seahawks in the 2023 offseason. He's making $22.3 million this year, but $9.6 million of that was a roster bonus that was converted to a signing bonus in the spring to save the team some cap space. His salary for 2025 is $14.8 million, and it is not guaranteed. But the Seahawks will owe him a $10 million roster bonus if he's still there on the seventh day of the 2025 league year. That's a device in there to force a decision.
Smith has played well enough as Seattle's starter that you'd have to imagine the team would want him back in 2025, but he does turn 34 on Thursday, and it's also possible the new coaching staff could decide it wants to go in a different direction. Either way, Smith's deal offers the Seahawks a great deal of flexibility and doesn't restrict them to any particular set of options after this season is over. If they release him before paying the roster bonus, the dead money cap hit in 2025 would be only $13.5 million.
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Baker Mayfield
Signed through: 2026
Remaining guarantees: $11.125 million
Earliest exit point: 2025 offseason
Mayfield signed a three-year, $100 million contract this offseason that included a $28.875 million signing bonus and a fully guaranteed $1.125 million 2024 salary. He's slated to earn $30 million in 2025. Of that $30 million, $10 million is fully guaranteed and another $10 million is guaranteed against injury. The injury guarantee converts to a full guarantee if he's still on the roster on the fifth day of the 2025 league year, too.
So far, Mayfield looks as if he is worth the money, throwing 11 touchdown passes to two interceptions over five games. His 64.0 QBR ranked ninth in the league, and he is completing 71.9% of his passes. And he's still only 29.
Baker Mayfield, Todd Bowles and Mike Evans speak about Mayfield's evolution to becoming a franchise quarterback for the Buccaneers.
It seems really unlikely, but if the Bucs opt to cut him after this season but before the fifth day of the 2025 league year (and he's healthy at that time), they'd have paid him $40 million for one season. They'd also have to carry $33 million of dead money on their 2025 salary cap. Looking down the road, Mayfield also has a non-guaranteed $40 million salary for 2026 if he's still in Tampa Bay.
3. Los Angeles Rams: Matthew Stafford
Signed through: 2026
Remaining guarantees: $27.5 million
Earliest exit point: 2025 offseason
Stafford and the Rams restructured his contract this offseason to move some money into this year from future years. He received a $12.5 million signing bonus, a fully guaranteed salary of $23.5 million this year and a $4 million fully guaranteed roster bonus for 2025. If he's on the roster in 2025, Stafford is scheduled to earn $23 million in salary in addition to the roster bonus. If he's on the team in 2026, he'd earn $31 million, according to his current contract.
Stafford will be 37 next year, and it seems as if he and the Rams are taking it year-by-year at this point. L.A. would take on almost $50 million in dead money if it moved on from him after this season, but the team and player have shown a willingness to work together and make adjustments for mutual benefit. If that's the decision, they'll likely find a way to rework things again and defray that number a bit.
4. New York Jets: Aaron Rodgers
Signed through: 2025
Remaining guarantees: $3,161,112
Earliest exit point: 2025 offseason
Rodgers turns 41 in December, and at this point, the Jets are taking it year-by-year. He's making $38,161,112 this year, but $35 million of that came in the form of an option bonus that has already vested. So the Jets are paying him that guaranteed $3,161,112 salary this year, and then he has a non-guaranteed $2.5 million salary and $35 million option bonus on the books for 2025. The dead cap hit if they move on from him after this year is $49 million on their 2025 cap, but it's likely Rodgers and the Jets would work something out to adjust the contract again and defray that cost a bit.
The key thing to know about Rodgers' contract is that both he and the team are treating his tenure as year-to-year, and New York isn't tied to him beyond the 2024 season in any significant contractual way. The Jets would be free and clear to start over at quarterback after this season if they, Rodgers or both decided to walk away.
5. New York Giants: Daniel Jones
Signed through: 2026
Remaining guarantees: $35.5 million
Earliest exit point: 2025 offseason
Jones signed a four-year, $160 million contract with the Giants in 2023. He is making $35.5 million in fully guaranteed salary this year. He's scheduled to make $30.5 million in 2026 and $47 million in 2027 -- but none of that money is guaranteed. And if the Giants release him after this season, they'd owe him nothing more in cash and would take on a palatable $22.12 million in 2025 dead salary cap money.
The only caveat is that $23 million of Jones' 2025 salary is guaranteed against injury, and $12 million of it converts to a full guarantee at the start of the 2025 league year in March. So if Jones were to suffer an injury that would prevent him from passing a physical next March, New York would be on the hook for another chunk of money. Otherwise, Jones' contract ties him to the Giants for only the current season. Jones has six touchdown passes and three interceptions for the 2-3 Giants.
Check back in two years ...
These players aren't going anywhere for at least two seasons, but then the team can make a decision.
1. Green Bay Packers: Jordan Love
Signed through: 2029
Remaining guarantees: $25.8 million
Earliest exit point: 2026 offseason
Love signed a four-year, $220 million extension this past offseason that included a $75 million signing bonus and fully guaranteed salaries of $3.5 million this year, $11.9 million in 2025 and $10.4 million in 2026. He also has injury guarantees of $39.5 million in 2026 and $20 million in 2027. If Love is on the Packers' roster on the sixth day of the 2026 league year, he gets an option bonus of $39.5 million in addition to his salary, too.
So in the very unlikely event he is healthy and the Packers decide to release him after the 2025 season but before the sixth day of the 2026 league year, they'd have paid him $101.4 million for two seasons. They'd then incur $50.27 million in 2026 dead cap money. And if they cut him after the 2026 season and before the sixth day of the 2027 league year, they'd have paid him $151.9 million for three years and would take on $65.12 million in dead money.
Realistically, Love's contract ties him to Green Bay through at least the 2027 season. And that doesn't seem to be any sort of issue. Love has emerged as one of the top young quarterbacks in the game, sporting a solid 40-16 touchdown-to-interception ratio since the start of last season. He's 11th in the NFL in QBR over that time, too (60.6).
2. New Orleans Saints: Derek Carr
Signed through: 2026
Remaining guarantees: $11.21 million
Earliest exit point: 2026 offseason
After an offseason contract restructure that converted $28.79 million of his 2024 salary into a signing bonus, Carr is making $1.21 million in guaranteed salary this year and has a fully guaranteed $10 million roster bonus for 2025. He's also scheduled to earn $30 million in non-guaranteed salary in 2025 and $50 million in non-guaranteed salary in 2026. Because of the restructure, it would be difficult for the Saints to cut Carr after this season. They'd still owe him $10 million in cash and would take a $50.132 million dead money cap hit in 2025.
The more likely future outcome -- assuming the Saints don't need to restructure him again next offseason to same cap space, which would fit what they normally do -- is the team will have a decision to make in the 2026 offseason on whether to extend him or move on. Carr began the season by helping lead the New Orleans offense to 91 points over the first two games (five TD passes to one interception), but the Saints have now dropped three in a row (three TD passes, three INTs). Carr left Monday night's game against the Chiefs because of an oblique injury.
In good shape for now, but new deals on the horizon
These contract situations have team-friendly structures at the moment, but the nature of these deals mean the QBs will need new contracts in the near future.
1. Kansas City Chiefs: Patrick Mahomes
Signed through: 2031
Remaining guarantees: $42.2 million
Earliest exit point: 2026 offseason
Mahomes is a 29-year-old two-time MVP and three-time Super Bowl champion, so it's fair to assume he'll be the Chiefs' quarterback as long as he wants. But this isn't about that. This is about contracts, and Mahomes has a sprawling and complex one.
In the summer of 2020, with two years left on his rookie deal, Mahomes signed a 10-year, $450 million contract extension that runs one year longer than the current collective bargaining agreement between the league and its players. The deal has already been adjusted multiple times to account for the fact the quarterback market has spiked and he's still the best one out there. It includes "rolling guarantees," which means that at this point all that's guaranteed beyond 2024 is a $32.35 million roster bonus in 2025. But ...
His 2025 base salary of $16.65 million and a $1 million 2025 workout bonus become guaranteed on the third day of the 2025 league year, as does his $10.4 million 2026 roster bonus.
His 2026 base salary of $43.35 million and a $1 million workout bonus become fully guaranteed on the third day of the 2026 league year, as does his $6.1 million 2027 roster bonus.
His 2027 base salary of $45.8 million and a $1 million workout bonus become fully guaranteed on the third day of the 2027 league year, as does his $8.2 million 2028 roster bonus.
And so on; you get the idea. The Chiefs could get out of the deal after 2025 and only take a dead money hit of about $29 million on their 2026 cap while owing him $10.4 million in 2026 guarantees. But come on. Obviously, that's not going to happen. Mahomes' deal is a helper for the Chiefs because they're constantly able to convert roster bonuses into signing bonuses and push cap hits out into future years because it contains so many of them.
2. Buffalo Bills: Josh Allen
Signed through: 2028
Remaining guarantees: $40.125 million
Earliest exit point: 2026 offseason
The Bills restructured Allen's contract in March, converting all but the minimum $1.125 million of his 2024 salary into a signing bonus. So with that paid, he's getting that $1.125 million guaranteed this year and another $39 million guaranteed next year -- a $14 million salary and a $25 million roster bonus. If he's still on the roster on the fifth day of the 2025 league year, his $15 million 2026 roster bonus also becomes guaranteed.
Allen is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, even if the Buffalo offense has yet to find its footing this season. The most likely outcome here is the Bills tear up the final few years of this deal and give him a new extension sometime in the next couple of offseasons. Even if they don't, there's no reason to think Allen wouldn't see the end of his current deal, which runs through 2028.
The class of 2027
These players aren't going anywhere for at least three more seasons, barring trades, but then the team can make a decision.
1. Baltimore Ravens: Lamar Jackson
Signed through: 2027
Remaining guarantees: $57.75 million
Earliest exit point: 2027 offseason
Jackson signed a five-year, $260 million contract extension in April 2023. He received a $72.5 milling signing bonus, fully guaranteed salaries of $7.5 million in 2023 and $14.25 million in 2024, and option bonuses of $17.5 million and $22.5 million in 2024 and 2025, respectively. This past March, another $22 million in 2025 salary and bonuses became fully guaranteed. If he's still on the roster on the fifth day of the 2025 league year (a fair bet), $29 million of his $51.25 million 2026 salary becomes fully guaranteed.
So really the soonest the Ravens could get out of this is the spring of 2027, by which point they'd have paid him about $207 million for four years. They'd then take on $31.5 million in 2027 dead cap charges.
But Jackson is a two-time MVP who played like a comic book superhero this past Sunday in a shootout victory over Joe Burrow and the Bengals, so it's hard to imagine a scenario in which things turn bad enough the Ravens are actually looking to bail out of this deal early.
2. Cincinnati Bengals: Joe Burrow
Signed through: 2029
Remaining guarantees: $45,964,982
Earliest exit point: 2027 offseason
Burrow signed his five-year, $275 million extension in the 2023 offseason. It included a $40 million signing bonus, fully guaranteed salaries of $1.01 million in 2023, $10,714,982 in 2024 and $25.2 million in 2025, plus a $55 million 2024 option bonus and a $10 million 2025 option bonus. On the fifth day of the 2025 league year, his $25.2 million 2026 salary becomes fully guaranteed (safely assuming he's still on the roster). So if the Bengals wanted to get out of the deal in the spring of 2027, they'd have paid him roughly $167 million for four years and would incur a dead money charge of around $36 million on their 2027 salary cap.
Burrow seems to be fully recovered from last season's wrist surgery and is playing at a high level, with the second-best QBR in the league through five weeks (73.6). Assuming he can figure out a way to stay consistently healthy, there's no reason to think Burrow won't be around in Cincinnati for a long time.
3. Arizona Cardinals: Kyler Murray
Signed through: 2028
Remaining guarantees: $66.9 million
Earliest exit point: 2027 offseason
Murray is making a fully guaranteed $37 million this year, and he's guaranteed another $29.9 million in 2025. If he's still on the roster on the fifth day of the 2025 league year, another $39.835 million in 2026 compensation becomes fully guaranteed. If he's on the roster on the fifth day of the 2027 league year, $19.5 million of his 2027 money becomes fully guaranteed. So the Cardinals could get out after 2026 with an affordable dead money hit of just over $20 million, provided they made the move before the fifth day of the '27 league year.
But more realistically, Murray's deal ties him to Arizona through at least 2027. Murray has been solid since returning from a torn ACL last November. His 66.4 QBR is sixth in the NFL this season, and he has eight total TDs (seven passing, one rushing) through five games.
4. Dallas Cowboys: Dak Prescott
Signed through: 2028
Remaining guarantees: $47.75 million
Earliest exit point: 2027 offseason
Prescott's recently signed extension included an $80 million signing bonus and fully guaranteed salaries of $1.25 million in 2024 and $47.75 million in 2025. On the fifth day of the 2025 league year (March 17), his $40 million salary for 2026 becomes fully guaranteed. On the fifth day of the 2026 league year, his $45 million salary for 2027 becomes fully guaranteed. All of those salaries -- plus $17 million of his $55 million salary for 2028 -- are guaranteed against injury.
So if Prescott is healthy, and they cut him after the 2026 season but before the fifth day of the 2027 league year, they will have paid him $169 million for three seasons. That's an average of $56.3 million per year, which is a lot. But we're dealing with a hypothetical and unrealistic scenario in which Prescott has stayed healthy but played poorly, leading the Cowboys to eat $33.38 million in dead money on their 2027 salary cap.
Prescott's deal ties him to the Cowboys for at least the next three years and probably at least the next four. And assuming the Cowboys restructure it next offseason as expected, it'll be even more restrictive for them moving forward. That all said, Prescott is fourth in QBR over the past two years (69.9), is the only quarterback in the NFL with more than 40 touchdown passes over that time and is 31 years old.
5. Detroit Lions: Jared Goff
Signed through: 2028
Remaining guarantees: $40.61 million
Earliest exit point: 2027 offseason
Goff signed a four-year, $212 million extension this offseason that included a $73 million signing bonus and fully guaranteed salaries of $2.61 million this year and $18 million in 2025. It also provides for $20 million of his $55 million 2026 salary to be fully guaranteed. If he's on the roster on the fifth day of the 2025 league year, the remaining $35 million of his 2026 money becomes guaranteed. Cutting him after the 2025 season would result in a dead cap hit of $63.8 million. Cutting him after the 2026 season would only cost $29.2 million in dead cap, but by then $18 million of his 2027 money will have become guaranteed, so the Lions would have to carry that as well.
That's all to say Goff's deal ties him to the Lions through at least 2027, unless they decide they need to do something drastic. But hey, once upon a time we thought Goff's contract tied him to the Rams for a long time, and they traded him pretty soon after he signed it. Anything's possible in a post-Russell Wilson dead money world.
6. Miami Dolphins: Tua Tagovailoa
Signed through: 2028
Remaining guarantees: $51.171 million
Earliest exit point: 2027 offseason
Tagovailoa was put on injured reserve in September with the third diagnosed concussion of his career, so discussing the realistic exit points and overall outlook of his contract situation might seem a little callous. But we're just talking dollars and cents here, and we can do that while still wishing Tagovailoa the best for his long-term health.
He signed a four-year, $212.4 million contract this offseason that included a $42 million signing bonus, a fully guaranteed $1.125 million salary in 2024, a fully guaranteed $25.046 million salary in 2025 and an additional $25 million option bonus in 2025. If he's still on the roster on the third day of the 2025 league year, his $39 million 2026 salary and $15 million 2026 roster bonus become fully guaranteed. So the earliest the Dolphins could really get out of this deal pain-free is the 2027 offseason, by which time they'd have paid him right around $150 million for three years and still owe him $3 million in guaranteed 2027 salary. They'd also take on a dead money hit of $35.8 million on their 2027 cap at that point.
There's of course a lot of mystery about Tagovailoa's future, but it's really all health-related. If he comes back from his latest concussion, stays healthy and continues to play well, his current deal ties him to the Dolphins for at least two more seasons after this one.
The class of 2028
Here are the 2023 first-rounders who are under team control through 2027, via the fifth-year option. That means they'd be up for new deals for 2028 and beyond, assuming they don't sign extensions before then.
1. Houston Texans: C.J. Stroud
Signed through: 2026 (plus team option for 2027)
Remaining guarantees: $12,144,342
Earliest exit point: 2027 offseason
As the No. 2 pick in the 2023 draft, Stroud received a fully guaranteed, four-year, $36,279,246 contract. That included a $23,384,904 signing bonus. Already one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL in his second season, Stroud should be with Houston for a long time. Since entering the league, he has thrown 30 touchdown passes to eight interceptions, averaging 8.1 yards per attempt.
The best bet here, based on the way Stroud has performed, is the Texans pick up his 2027 option in the spring of 2026 and sign him to a massive extension later that same offseason.
2. Indianapolis Colts: Anthony Richardson
Signed through: 2026 (plus team option for 2027)
Remaining guarantees: $11,521,098
Earliest exit point: 2027 offseason
Richardson was the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 draft and received a fully guaranteed, four-year, $33,994,030 contract that included a $21,772,932 signing bonus. He sat out 13 games his rookie season because of a shoulder injury and has already sat out one game this season because of a hip injury. He has six passing TDs and seven interceptions over eight career starts. The Colts will have to decide by the first week in May 2026 whether to exercise his 2027 option, and they're going to need a lot more data than they have on Richardson as an NFL quarterback before making that decision.
3. Carolina Panthers: Andy Dalton, Bryce Young
Dalton signed through: 2024
Dalton remaining guarantees: $2 million
Dalton earliest exit point: 2025 offseason
Young signed through: 2026 (plus team option for 2027)
Young remaining guarantees: $12,601,386
Young earliest exit point: 2027 offseason
Young was the first pick in the 2023 draft and received a fully guaranteed, four-year, $37,955,074 contract, of which $24,603,688 was a signing bonus. Thus far, he has failed to live up to expectations and was benched in Week 3 of his second season in favor of Dalton, who is Carolina's current starter.
Dalton's contract voids after this season, and he will be a free agent, having earned $10 million over two years with the Panthers. If the Panthers wanted to cut Young after this season, they'd take on $22.43 million in 2025 dead money and still owe him more than $10 million in guaranteed salary. Young might well be done in Carolina, but as we've seen with players such as Trey Lance, Mac Jones and Justin Fields, the most likely way out is by trade, not release. The contract binds Young to the Panthers for two more years beyond this one, but the circumstances probably will result in this team looking for a new solution at the position in 2025.
Long-range planners
These players have guarantee structures in their deals that mean they aren't going anywhere anytime soon.
1. Philadelphia Eagles: Jalen Hurts
Signed through: 2028
Remaining guarantees: $63.585 million
Earliest exit point: 2027 offseason
Hurts' deal is complex, as the bulk of his compensation comes via a series of annual option bonuses. For example, his base salary for this season is $1.125 million, but he pocketed an extra $38.875 million when the team exercised his option bonus this past spring. Next year, he has a fully guaranteed $1.17 million salary and a fully guaranteed $40.83 million roster bonus. He also has $20.46 million of his 2026 money fully guaranteed already, and the remaining $30.804 million of his 2026 compensation becomes fully guaranteed on the third day of the 2025 league year.
Moving on from Hurts after 2025 would result in a dead money cap hit of more than $107 million. Moving on after 2026 would result in a dead cap hit of nearly $53 million, and that's assuming the Eagles did it before $22 million of his 2027 salary becomes guaranteed on the third day of the 2026 league year. Realistically, Hurts' contract ties him to the Eagles through 2027 at the very least. But something would have to go very wrong for him to end up cut after the 2026 season.
2. Los Angeles Chargers: Justin Herbert
Signed through: 2029
Remaining guarantees: $116.6 million
Earliest exit point: 2028 offseason
The five-year, $262.5 million contract extension Herbert signed in the 2023 offseason included a $16.12 million signing bonus, fully guaranteed salaries of $1.01 million in 2023, $6 million in 2024 and $15 million in 2025, plus fully guaranteed option bonuses of $50.6 million in 2024 and $45 million in 2025. His $24 million 2026 salary becomes fully guaranteed on the third day of the 2025 league year, and he has a similar guarantee structure (at different numbers) in the years that follow.
Bottom line, if the Chargers wanted to move on after 2027, it would be tough but not impossible. They'd take a dead money hit of about $53 million on their 2028 cap and owe him $25 million in guaranteed 2028 salary. At that point, they'd have paid him about $219 million for five years.
But Herbert will also just be turning 30 at that point. And while he's going through a bit of a transition year right now with a new coach and GM and a lot of roster turnover, Herbert has proven himself to be a star-caliber quarterback. And the Chargers are hopeful to have him around longer than that.
3. Jacksonville Jaguars: Trevor Lawrence
Signed through: 2030
Remaining guarantees: $104.5 million
Earliest exit point: 2029 offseason
Lawrence signed a whopper of a five-year, $275 million contract extension this past summer. It included a $37.5 million signing bonus, along with fully guaranteed salaries of $1.5 million in 2024, $2 million in 2025 and $2 million in 2026. It also had fully guaranteed option bonuses of $35 million in 2025 and 2026 and an option bonus of $35 million in 2027 (of which $29 million was fully guaranteed at signing). That's $142 million in full guarantees, including $29 million three years from now.
The remaining $6 million of his 2027 roster bonus becomes fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the 2026 league year, and his $35 million 2028 roster bonus becomes fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the 2027 league year. He also has non-guaranteed salaries of $6 million in 2027 and $11 million in 2028. So if the Jaguars wanted out, the soonest that would realistically be possible is probably after the 2028 season, at which point they'd have paid Lawrence $202 million over five years.
The jury might still be out on Lawrence as a franchise quarterback based on the way last season went and the way this one has gone so far. But the contract the Jaguars gave him says they are certain he is one. And Jaguars fans should get used to Lawrence being their team's quarterback.
The rookies
This one is pretty straightforward -- it's the 2024 first-round quarterbacks who all share similar circumstances.
1. Chicago Bears: Caleb Williams
Signed through: 2027 (plus team option for 2028)
Remaining guarantees: $13,948,926
Earliest exit point: 2028 offseason
The first pick in this year's draft, Williams received a fully guaranteed, four-year, $39,486,058 contract that included a $25,537,132 signing bonus. We could copy and paste the same words with different numbers for all of the first-round picks from this year. Williams' contract ties him to the Bears through at least 2027, and Chicago must decide in May 2026 whether to exercise his fifth-year option for 2028.
Williams has flashed early in his career, and he is coming off his best game to date: 304 passing yards, two TD passes and zero interceptions in a win over Carolina.
2. Washington Commanders: Jayden Daniels
Signed through: 2027 (plus team option for 2028)
Remaining guarantees: $13,474,542
Earliest exit point: 2028 offseason
The second pick in this year's draft, Daniels received a fully guaranteed $37,746,650 contract. Of that, $24,272,108 was a signing bonus. He has $795,000 in fully guaranteed salary this year, $2,510,757 in 2025, $4,226,514 in 2026 and $5,942,271 in 2027. (Cutting Daniels even after the 2026 season would result in $12 million in 2027 dead money -- but it would also obviously require a big change in his play.)
Daniels' contract ties him to the Commanders for four years, though the early returns on his performance make you think they'd like him to stick around much longer than that. He has been terrific so far, throwing four touchdown passes and rushing for four more scores for the 4-1 Commanders.
3. New England Patriots: Drake Maye, Jacoby Brissett
Maye signed through: 2027 (plus team option for 2028)
Maye remaining guarantees: $13,172,664
Maye earliest exit point: 2028 offseason
Brissett signed through: 2024
Brissett remaining guarantees: $1.5 million
Brissett earliest exit point: Basically whenever
Brissett signed a one-year "bridge quarterback" contract worth $8 million with $6.5 million guaranteed, including a $5 million signing bonus. He'll be eligible for unrestricted free agency after this season, and if the Patriots wanted to cut him or trade him during this season, they'd be able to do it without any real pain.
Maye was the third overall pick in this year's draft, and as such he received a four-year, fully guaranteed $36,639,764 contract that included a $23,467,100 signing bonus. The Pats will have to decide by the first week of May 2027 whether to exercise the fifth-year option for 2028. They aren't tied to Brissett at all, which is good after the abysmal start to the season for the offense. But they are tied to Maye for at least the next four years, which is part of the reason they felt OK waiting before making him their starter (so as not to risk ruining him with poor surrounding circumstances). Maye is set to take over under center in Week 6.
4. Denver Broncos: Bo Nix
Signed through: 2027 (plus team option for 2028)
Remaining guarantees: $8,256,318
Earliest exit point: 2028 offseason
As the No. 12 pick in this year's draft, Nix received a four-year, fully guaranteed $18,613,166 contract that included a $10,356,848 signing bonus. The Broncos are unlikely to release him before the end of his fully guaranteed rookie deal. Even if they wanted to move on, a trade would be more likely. They'll have to decide by the first week of May 2027 whether to pick up the 2028 option. At that point, he'll be eligible for an extension. It's too soon to know how the Broncos will feel about Nix in May 2027.
The more complicated rookies
Two more 2024 first-round quarterback situations, but these players come with slightly different circumstances than the rest of that class.
1. Minnesota Vikings: Sam Darnold, J.J. McCarthy
Darnold signed through: 2024
Darnold remaining guarantees: $3.75 million
Darnold earliest exit point: 2025 offseason
McCarthy signed through: 2027 (plus team option for 2028)
McCarthy remaining guarantees: $9,140,400
McCarthy earliest exit point: 2028 offseason
Darnold signed a one-year, $10 million contract with the Vikings this offseason. There are four more years on the deal for cap purposes, but those void a week after the Super Bowl, so Darnold will be an unrestricted free agent after this season. Sure, the Vikings would have the option to franchise him or re-sign him, and Darnold has played extremely well through five games (11 TD passes). But the Vikings also used the 10th overall pick in this year's draft on McCarthy.
The rookie suffered a season-ending knee injury in the preseason but is going to be the starter in Minnesota at some point. His rookie deal is for four years and a fully guaranteed $21,854,796, of which $12,714,396 was a signing bonus. If Darnold keeps playing the way he has played through the team's first five games and McCarthy develops efficiently, the Vikings would have one of the most enviable short- and long-term quarterback contract situations in the league.
2. Atlanta Falcons: Kirk Cousins, Michael Penix Jr.
Cousins signed through: 2027
Cousins remaining guarantees: $40 million
Cousins earliest exit point: 2026 offseason
Penix signed through: 2027 (plus team option for 2028)
Penix remaining guarantees: $9,420,720
Penix earliest exit point: 2028 offseason
Cousins' four-year, $180 million contract included a $50 million signing bonus and fully guaranteed salaries of $12.5 million in 2024 and $27.5 million in 2025. If he's on the roster at the start of the 2025 league year, his $10 million 2026 roster bonus becomes fully guaranteed.
The Falcons would eat $65 million in 2025 dead salary cap money (and also have to pay him $27.5 million in cash) if they cut Cousins after this season, so it's unlikely they do that. (His play has also stabilized, with the 36-year-old throwing for 509 yards against the Buccaneers, his fifth game back from the 2023 torn Achilles.) But this is a unique situation, since the Falcons used the eighth pick in the draft on Penix about six weeks after signing Cousins to that deal.
Penix's rookie deal is for four years and a fully guaranteed $22,882,636, of which $13,461,916 was a signing bonus. If the Falcons decide after this season they want to start Penix in 2025, the most likely move would be to trade Cousins, which would leave them with a $37.5 million dead money hit and clear the way to go with Penix. Either way, the Falcons have created one of the oddest and most costly QB contract situations in the league, as it will be impossible for them to maximize the full value of both deals.
The ultimate albatross
Yup, there's no way out of this one ...
1. Cleveland Browns: Deshaun Watson
Signed through: 2026
Remaining guarantees: $93.21 million
Earliest exit point: 2027 offseason
Yeah, this one. So the Browns signed Watson to a fully guaranteed, five-year, $230 million contract as a condition of the trade that brought him to Cleveland from Houston in 2022. His scheduled salary each year of the deal was $46 million. They restructured in 2023 and again this summer to save cap space, so he's making a $1.21 million minimum salary this year and is owed $46 million guaranteed in each of the 2025 and 2026 seasons.
Watson has been horrendous. He was suspended for the first 11 games in 2022 after he was accused by more than two dozen women of sexual misconduct during massage sessions. He played six games in 2023 before a shoulder injury ended his season, and the Browns went on to win 11 games and reach the playoffs with Joe Flacco playing quarterback. And so far this season, Watson ranks 31st in the league with an awful QBR of 21.0. He has five touchdown passes and three interceptions. The Browns are 1-4. And they are stuck with Watson.
If the Browns cut Watson in the 2025 offseason, they'd take on -- this is not a typo -- $172.734 million in dead money. And they'd still owe him $92 million in cash. However, if the NFL suspends Watson again in the wake of the most recent sexual assault lawsuit against him (which was settled earlier this week), the Browns can void his remaining guarantees, and the dead money hit for cutting him after this year would drop to "just" $82.734 million.
This is far and away the worst quarterback situation in the NFL ... probably ever.