Last week I released an article talking about the NFL QB’s worth and how the team’s value to them is not worth the asking price. Joe Burrow and Trevor Lawrence lead the way with $55 million, while Dak Prescott makes $40 million annually. The salary of the two leaders has a fully guaranteed value of $142 million for their contract. Now the major talking point is that there are three players up for getting paid. Dak Prescott, Ceedee Lamb, and Micah Parsons. Another sticking point is that players don’t want to take less money than the highest paid player at that position.
Making this assumption, we can look at the QB contract situation first. We can expect that Prescott would ask for something around 57-61 million annually and around at least $147 million fully guaranteed, as Joe Burrow’s guaranteed money is valued at $146.5 million. The current leading receiver in terms of money is Justin Jefferson, who holds a fully guaranteed value of $80 million and an annual income of $35 million. The current leading paid receiver is making $15 million in fully guaranteed less than the #13 paid QB, which is Dak Prescott.
The leading edge rusher, Nick Bosa, has an annual contract of $34 million and a fully guaranteed $84 million. Which is comparable to Jefferson’s contract. So, in theory, you can pay your #1 wide receiver in Lamb, wait a year, and franchise tag Parsons if you need to. Then come back to the table and offer him top dollar for his services. The team will most likely let Prescott go, but that shouldn’t be that big of a deal. History has shown us that he will put up great numbers and lay a goose egg in the playoffs when he’s needed.
The former first rounder, Trey Lance could probably do just that at a cheaper value if that’s all we’re asking out of a QB in Dallas. As I stated earlier in this article and the one previously. We are paying QBs not for what they’re actually worth but for the value that they bring to their team. There’s no reason Jared Goff should be getting paid in the top 3 or Kyler Murray being paid more than Allen and Mahomes.
They’re not like Burrow, who will mentally dissect a defense, or Mahomes breaking the pocket, buying 10 more seconds of time that feels like an eternity on TV, or Allen, who will break the pocket, run for a gain, and take a punishing blow for his team. There are certain QBs that you can sacrifice your cap for, but the majority of the time it’s not worth it as long as you have the Derek Carr’s of the world that can come in and give your team stability. So, Dallas Cowboys go pay Lamb and Parsons. Bring the team the value it really needs.
