7 highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL (updated 2023)

As the NFL salary cap continues to increase each year, we are seeing contracts that we have never before witnessed in the NFL. Players are making significantly more than they have in years past, and quarterbacks are quietly accounting for a higher percentage of the team's total salary cap space than they did a few decades ago.

Finding a true franchise quarterback can help set a team up for success for years to come. However, handing out bad contracts can be devastating for some teams. Still, with so much relying on the quarterback to lead their team to a Super Bowl, many front offices don't have a choice but to fork up substantial money to keep their signal-callers around.

These contracts will continue to climb as quarterbacks will leapfrog each other in average annual earnings as the salary cap goes up. As of 2023, here are the seven highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL in terms of average money earned per year.

*All salary cap figures courtesy of Over the Cap.

7. Patrick Mahomes: $45 million per year

Earning $45 million seems like an awful lot, but based on what Patrick Mahomes has been able to accomplish since his new deal, it's almost like the Kansas City Chiefs robbed him blind (especially when considering what lesser quarterbacks are making).

Daniel Jones, for example, is earning $40 million per season on his new contract, and the difference between these two quarterbacks is astronomical. Mahomes' contract seemed like a massive deal at the time. In 2020, he inked a 10-year, $450 million extension to stay in Kansas City.

You rarely see players agree to terms on deals this long, and it's surprising that Mahomes was willing to do so considering that the salary cap raises each year. A few years from now, Mahomes' contract could look like one of the biggest steals in the league.

Right now, however, he has the seventh-biggest contract in terms of yearly money, and there's no question the former MVP and two-time Super Bowl champion should be higher.