The $60 Million Man: Ranking The Top 10 Highest-Paid Quarterbacks In The NFL (2024 Update)

The landscape of NFL quarterback salaries has been completely reshaped in 2024, continuing the league's trend of record-breaking contracts. As of the current date, December 15, 2025, the title of the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL belongs to a star who recently signed a massive extension, solidifying his position as the league's top earner by a significant margin. This article breaks down the financial details of the biggest contracts, focusing on the Average Annual Value (AAV), the metric that truly defines a player’s standing in the salary hierarchy.

The total value of a contract can be misleading due to its length, but the AAV—the total money divided by the number of years—reveals the true annual earning power. The explosive growth of the NFL salary cap, driven by new media deals and increased league revenue, ensures that this list will likely be outdated again within the next 12-18 months, but for now, the new king of quarterback contracts has been crowned.

The New King: Dak Prescott’s Record-Shattering Contract Details

The definitive answer to "who's the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL" is Dallas Cowboys star Dak Prescott. His blockbuster deal, signed in September 2024, set a new benchmark for quarterback compensation, surpassing all previous records and resetting the market for future extensions. The sheer size of the guaranteed money in the deal is perhaps more significant than the annual average.

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Dak Prescott Biography & Contract Profile

• Player: Dak Prescott
• Team: Dallas Cowboys
• Position: Quarterback (QB)
• Born: July 29, 1993 (Age 32 as of late 2025)
• College: Mississippi State
• NFL Draft: 2016 (4th Round, 135th overall)
• Current Contract: Four-year, $240 million extension (Signed September 2024)
• Average Annual Value (AAV): $60,000,000
• Total Guaranteed Money: $231,000,000

Prescott’s $60 million AAV makes him the first player in NFL history to reach that annual salary threshold. The contract's guaranteed money figure of $231 million is also a staggering number, ensuring his financial security for the foreseeable future and demonstrating the Cowboys' commitment to their franchise player. This deal instantly jumped him past the previous AAV record holders, Joe Burrow and Trevor Lawrence, by a notable margin.

Ranking the Top 10 Highest-Paid NFL Quarterbacks by AAV

The modern quarterback contract is defined by its Average Annual Value (AAV). This metric is the standard for comparing player salaries across the league, showing which player commands the most money per year. The following list details the top 10 highest-paid QBs in the NFL, based on their AAV as of the 2024 season and subsequent extensions. This list includes a number of young, elite talents who have recently signed their first major extensions, driving the market price ever higher.

1. Dak Prescott (Dallas Cowboys): $60 Million AAV
   • Signed in September 2024, making him the only QB at the $60M mark.
2. Joe Burrow (Cincinnati Bengals): $55 Million AAV
   • Burrow's 2023 extension initially set the record with a five-year, $275 million deal.
3. Trevor Lawrence (Jacksonville Jaguars): $55 Million AAV
   • Lawrence tied Burrow's AAV with his own five-year, $275 million extension, signed in June 2024.
4. Tua Tagovailoa (Miami Dolphins): $53.1 Million AAV
   • His extension in 2024 quickly placed him in the top five, demonstrating the rising cost of franchise QBs.
5. Jared Goff (Detroit Lions): $53 Million AAV
   • Goff's 2024 extension was a major commitment from the Lions, rewarding his turnaround with the franchise.
6. Justin Herbert (Los Angeles Chargers): $52.5 Million AAV
   • Herbert’s deal was a major talking point in 2023, showcasing the value of young, high-ceiling quarterbacks.
7. Lamar Jackson (Baltimore Ravens): $52 Million AAV
   • Jackson's contract was a landmark deal, particularly for its structure and the fact that he represented himself in negotiations.
8. Jalen Hurts (Philadelphia Eagles): $51 Million AAV
   • Hurts’ extension in 2023 was a significant milestone, making him the highest-paid player at the time of signing.
9. Kyler Murray (Arizona Cardinals): $46.1 Million AAV
   • Murray’s deal, signed in 2022, was a major commitment by the Cardinals to their former No. 1 overall pick.
10. Deshaun Watson (Cleveland Browns): $46 Million AAV
    • Watson's contract is notable for being fully guaranteed, a contractual structure that remains an outlier in the NFL.

The Financial Mechanics: Why QB Contracts Keep Exploding

The constant escalation of quarterback salaries is not a coincidence; it is a direct result of the NFL's underlying financial structure and the unique value of the QB position. Understanding the mechanics of these deals provides crucial insight into the future of the league’s salary trends and the enormous financial risk teams are willing to take on their signal-callers.

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Guaranteed Money vs. Total Value

While Dak Prescott's $240 million total value is impressive, the guaranteed money is the most critical component. Guaranteed money is the amount a player is contractually assured to receive, regardless of injury or performance. Prescott's $231 million in guarantees is a staggering figure, offering him near-total security. This trend began in earnest with Deshaun Watson's fully guaranteed contract, though most teams still prefer to structure deals with guarantees that vest over time, protecting the club from future cap hits.

The Salary Cap and Market Reset

The NFL's salary cap has consistently risen, largely due to lucrative new television and media rights deals. When the cap increases, the market for the top players—especially quarterbacks—resets. Each new contract for an elite quarterback establishes a higher floor for the next player due for an extension. For example, Joe Burrow’s $55 million AAV immediately became the baseline for Trevor Lawrence, and then Dak Prescott’s $60 million AAV set the new ceiling. This phenomenon is known as the "market reset" and is a primary driver of the ever-increasing quarterback salary trends.

The Impact of Contract Length and Structure

Most of the top-tier contracts are structured as long-term deals, often five or six years, but the AAV is typically based on the "new money" added in the extension. The contract structure is designed to spread out the cap hit over several years, using a large signing bonus to minimize the initial impact on the team's salary cap. This financial engineering allows teams like the Cowboys and Jaguars to fit these massive deals under the cap while retaining other key players.

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The entities driving this market—including Patrick Mahomes (who has the largest total value contract at $450 million over 10 years, but a lower AAV of $45 million), Josh Allen, and Matthew Stafford—have all benefited from this financial evolution. As young stars like C.J. Stroud and Anthony Richardson approach their own second contracts, the $60 million AAV set by Dak Prescott will undoubtedly be the next target they aim to surpass, ensuring the quarterback salary war continues to escalate.