• The Dolphins bite the bullet: Tagovailoa earned a four-year, $212.4 million contract, but can the Dolphins still build around their quarterback with that contract?
• Love earns the big one: Jordan Love became the highest-paid player in NFL history after one season of success at the helm of the Packers' offense.
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Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes
Quarterback contracts have long been the most expensive deals in the NFL, and rightly so. No other position demands the same attention, nor are they as important as the quarterback. The big dollars were often reserved for the big names, but now even the middle-of-the-pack quarterbacks are getting excellent compensation for their services. That makes evaluating whether a player is worthy of their deal more of a topic, too, something PFF’s Sam Monson and Steve Palazzolo discussed on the PFF NFL Podcast this week.
Jordan Love and Tua Tagovailoa were both handed four-year contracts worth over $210 million in total value, and Dak Prescott could earn the richest contract in NFL history any day now. Where do we stand on all three deals in the grand scheme of things?
Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins: 4 years, $212.4 million, $167 million guaranteed
Buy or Sell: Sell
The Dolphins and Tagovailoa came to an agreement of a four-year deal that made him one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL on an average-annual-value basis, with the contract clocking in at $53.1 million a year. Despite an offseason of wondering if Tagovailoa was going to be given a big contract by the Dolphins, a deal was never too far away. Given the success of the Dolphins' offense and his production over the past two years, there were very few alternatives to paying Tagovailoa.
Tagovailoa led the NFL in passing yards in 2023 while tossing a career-high 29 touchdowns, helping the Dolphins earn their keep as one of the elite offenses in the NFL. His passing grades have steadily climbed each year, and Tagovailoa led the NFL with a 90.2 PFF passing grade this past year. His 88.4 PFF overall grade was a clear career high, too. Moving on from that production and bringing in a rookie — or another quarterback who isn’t as clued in on the system — is a gamble.
But the question has always been: How much does Tagovailoa really prop up the offense? He isn’t a physical freak with a cannon arm like some of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, and he can’t create out of a structured offense like they can. On top of that, Tagovailoa is in one of the best-designed offenses in the NFL, with arguably the league's best receiver in Tyreek Hill and another top threat in Jaylen Waddle.
As long as the weapons and variables remain in place, there’s no reason to expect Tagovailoa’s play to drop off. However, with the lion's share of money heading his way, keeping the personnel in the building becomes more difficult. And that’s when the contract will really come under scrutiny.
Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers: 4 years, $220 million, $160.3 million guaranteed
Buy or Sell: Buy
Jordan Love bided his time on the bench for three years, finally stepping into the Packers' starting job in 2023. The reward for Love’s play was a four-year, $220 million contract, handed to him shortly after Tagovailoa’s deal, making him the highest-paid player in NFL history.
After a slow start to the 2023 season, Love erupted from Week 9 onward. He completed 68.7% of his passes for 2,666 yards and 21 touchdowns while earning a 90.6 PFF overall grade over that span — the second-highest grade among all quarterbacks during that stretch. Love flashed elite quarterback attributes, creating out of the pocket, hitting tight throwing windows and demonstrating his excellent arm talent. His 32 passing touchdowns were also the second most among quarterbacks, and his 34 big-time throws were the fifth most. And Love did it with one of the youngest offenses in the league and a group of inexperienced receivers.
However, Love’s deal comes with question marks, too. We’ve seen only around eight games of excellent quarterback play from him, and it’s not a given that he can replicate the play that broke him out in 2023. There aren’t many comparisons for a quarterback showing elite play over such a stretch and then not replicating it, though.
Given that Love has shown he can elevate the receivers around him, the Packers' handing out of big contracts — especially in free agency — doesn’t seem as paramount as a team like the Dolphins doing it. A crazy 12 months for Love ends with him becoming the highest-paid player in NFL history, Green Bay is clearly confident in his long-term prospects.
Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
Buy or Sell: Buy
However you slice it, Dak Prescott is about to become the highest-paid quarterback in NFL history — either with the Cowboys or a new team in free agency. Prescott earned a 90.8 PFF overall grade in 2023, the highest of his NFL career, and led the NFL in passing touchdowns (36) and big-time throws (38) for the first time in his career in the regular season. The leverage belongs entirely to Prescott in negotiations.
The Cowboys boast one of the better squads in the NFL, and with Prescott under center, they’ve won 12 games in three consecutive seasons and been top five in points scored in all three seasons. They’re a regular-season juggernaut with Prescott, and the playoffs feel more or less a given. However, the Cowboys' lack of playoff success — and more, their unfortunate playoff embarrassments in the Prescott era — may give them some pause.
Dallas has won just two of its seven playoff games with Prescott under center, and the 2023 loss to the Packers highlighted just how much the team has struggled in the postseason. Prescott recorded a 60.6 PFF overall grade in the playoff loss to the Packers, despite throwing for more than 400 passing yards. The seven-game playoff sample size is small compared to his regular-season resume, but those are the moments that matter.
There’s still reason to believe that Prescott is talented enough to take the Cowboys to the promised land, but if they have any doubts about his ability to lead them to a Super Bowl — in part because of his, and their, playoff woes — can they really sign off on giving him the largest contract in NFL history?
Things get complicated when you take into account the Cowboys' desire to pay CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons. Both will reap mega deals, and building a team around those three contracts is tough. However, the Cowboys will likely bite the proverbial bullet and sign Prescott to the largest contract in NFL history.
Read more: 3 things we learned from Dallas Cowboys training camp — Aug. 3
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