Trevor Lawrence just became a much richer man Thursday after the Jacksonville Jaguars inked their quarterback to a massive contract extension. Lawrence agreed to a five-year, $275 million contract that includes $200 million fully guaranteed. This deal now has him as tied for the title of highest paid quarterback in the NFL in terms of average per year ($55 million) with Bengals superstar Joe Burrow, who signed a record-setting five-year, $275 million deal last September.
Lawrence getting $200 million guaranteed makes him only the fourth quarterback ever to receive that high of a guarantee, joining Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson -- whose five-year $230 million contract is fully guaranteed -- Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert ($218.7 million guaranteed) and Burrow, who was given $219.01 million in guarantees.
Now that he's being paid like an elite quarterback in the league, Jacksonville is hoping Lawrence can remain healthy and push the Kansas City Chiefs and other top contenders in the postseason like he did in 2022. The Jaguars narrowly missed the postseason after Lawrence suffered four different injuries during the 2023 season: a knee sprain (Week 6), a high-ankle sprain (Week 13), a concussion (Week 15) and an AC joint sprain in his shoulder (Week 16).
However, does having a well-compensated quarterback equate to championships? Well, just one player inside the newly etched top 10 highest-paid quarterbacks in the league has hoisted a Lombardi Trophy -- Patrick Mahomes. Here's a rundown of the highest-paid signal-callers in the league and a comparative chart of how they stack up against one another on the field.
Note: APY denotes average per-year earnings (via Spotrac).
| QB | Team | APY | Starts | Record | Playoffs | Rating | TD:INT | Super Bowls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trevor Lawrence | Jaguars | $55M | 50 | 20-30 | 1-1 | 85.0 | 58-39 | 0 |
| Joe Burrow | Bengals | $55M | 52 | 29-22-1 | 5-2 | 98.6 | 97:37 | 0-1 |
| Jared Goff | Lions | $53M | 117 | 66-50-1 | 4-4 | 93.6 | 185:82 | 0-1 |
| Justin Herbert | Chargers | $52.5M | 62 | 30-32 | 0-1 | 95.7 | 114:42 | 0 |
| Lamar Jackson | Ravens | $52M | 77 | 58-19 | 2-4 | 98.0 | 125:45 | 0 |
Jalen Hurts | Eagles | $51M | 51 | 34-17 | 2-3 | 91.1 | 67:34 | 0-1 |
Kyler Murray | Cardinals | $46.1M | 65 | 28-36-1 | 0-1 | 92.2 | 94:46 | 0 |
Deshaun Watson | Browns | $46M | 65 | 36-29 | 1-2 | 100.8 | 118:45 | 0 |
Kirk Cousins | Falcons | $45M | 145 | 76-67-2 | 1-3 | 98.2 | 270:110 | 0 |
Patrick Mahomes | Chiefs | $45M | 96 | 74-22 | 15-3 | 103.5 | 219-63 | 3-1 |
On top of Mahomes being the only quarterback within this top 10 to actually win a Super Bowl, just three others have been to the big game: Jared Goff, Jalen Hurts and Joe Burrow.
Still, this list does signal that quarterbacks are arguably overcompensated if the name of the game is to win at a high level in the playoffs. Only Mahomes and Burrow have playoff records above .500, and six of the 10 have records are below .500. In any event, if Lawrence can lead the Jaguars to their first-ever Super Bowl title, no one will blink twice when hearing he's the highest-paid quarterback in the league. The unfortunate thing for Lawrence and Jacksonville is they will probably have to go through the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs and Mahomes in order to do so.