Rewarding Mediocrity: Trevor Lawrence’s Extension Is Bad For NFL

Right before the Father’s Day weekend, Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback had arguably the greatest Thursday of anyone when he and the Jaguars agreed on a 5-year, $275 million contract which included $200 million guaranteed and $145 million due at signing.  The extension puts Lawrence tied with Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow atop the NFL with an average salary of $55.5 million per season.  The numbers are eye-popping considering not only is that a lot of money but it’s a lot of money for a guy you wouldn’t consider a top-10 quarterback in the league by any stretch of the imagination.

I know the NFL is printing money like it’s going out of style but the quarterback salaries have gotten insane and Lawrence is the latest decent QB that is getting paid like he’s Patrick Mahomes or Tom Brady.  In his first three seasons, Lawrence has had one season, 2022, where he had single-digit interceptions.  His rookie season, he had five more interceptions than touchdowns and in 2023 he had 21 touchdowns to 14 interceptions.  Not exactly WOW numbers.  He’s thrown for 11,770 career yards, has a career completion percentage of 63.8 and a QB rating of 85.  Again, not exactly anything other than mediocre in this day and age.

The quarterback position is the most important position in sports and because of that we see a lot of teams like the Jaguars, the Giants, for many years the Vikings (now Falcons) when it comes to Kirk Cousins, etc.  who pay quarterbacks that are not in the upper echelon of the league get paid top dollar.  Jordan Love had one good season after riding the bench and the Packers are probably going to back up a Brinks truck for him, the Cowboys have to figure out what to do with Dak Prescott and in the blink of an eye the Colts could have the same conundrum with Anthony Richardson.

Richardson is obviously still unproven but after an injury-plagued rookie year, Year 2 has even more pressure and expectations on it.  The Colts need to start seeing if he’s the real deal as it comes with a huge financial commitment, one that could be a talking point entering the 2025-26 season.  The Colts have to start seeing some true progression and development in order to feel comfortable potentially paying Richardson near $60 million per season when he comes due for a contract.

The QB position is the only position in sports where not being the best somehow rewards you as if you are.  No other position in the NFL or even sports does that.  You’re not the best running back?  You’ll make less than Christian McCaffrey. An outfielder not tearing the cover off the ball like Aaron Judge?  Then you aren’t making the highest salary.  Quarterback is the only position where this is an issue and it’s an issue that reminds me of one the league ran into years ago where the top pick in the NFL Draft, though never playing a down, would instantly become the highest-paid player in the league.  Sam Bradford was the last recipient of that insane situation and it looks like the league could have another issue on their hands where the QBs, even the mediocre ones, are making insane money over everyone else.

I get it, it’s the position that sells ratings and talking points but if guys like Trevor Lawrence, Kirk Cousins and Jared Goff are getting this kind of money thrown at them for just being okay, then the rest of the league and the owners need to start realizing paying top dollar for mediocre talent isn’t only a bad business decision for their organization and the other 31 teams but is also financially handicapping your franchise when it comes to championship windows.