Report: NFL owners discussed QB salary cap amid booming market originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area
The current rate for an NFL franchise quarterback skyrockets every year.
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence has reset the market after signing a massive five-year contract extension worth $275 million last week, paying him an average annual salary of $55 million.
What some believe is that third-year 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, who is eligible to sign a lucrative contract extension with San Francisco next offseason, will receive. If not more.
The growing quarterback market appears to have raised red flags among NFL owners, with some discussing the possibility of a salary cap for the position, NFL Media said. Tom Pelissero told Rich Eisen on June 18.
“There’s certainly been discussion within the league, among certain owners, even about the idea of a quarterback cap, that at some point, you want quarterbacks’ numbers to not exceed a certain percentage of your salary cap,” Pelissero told Eisen. “To my knowledge, it hasn’t really gained traction, in part because a lot of teams have paid their quarterbacks.
“And if you were to suddenly go to an NBA model, where suddenly you have max and supermax, and there’s really only a few levels that guys can get paid at, that kind of changes the dynamic in terms of how you establish a salary cap and other things.”
Many around the league were shocked by how much Lawrence was paid due to his inconsistent play over his first three seasons in the NFL, but as Pelissero points out, Lawrence’s $55 million per season value could soon be the market rate for a franchise quarterback.
“That gives some people pause, but it’s also a reflection that the quarterback market, like the salary cap, will continue to rise,” Pelissero continued. “So the longer you wait, the higher those numbers are likely to be, in the absence… of some team convincing a player to do a submarket deal, which is really hard to do in 2024.”
Purdy, who broke 49ers franchise records in his MVP-caliber 2023 season, is widely considered one of the best quarterbacks in the league and has already surpassed Lawrence in his career.
Which raises the question: Does “Mr. Irrelevant” could soon be the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL?
