Jared Goff just became a much richer man Monday after the Detroit Lions inked their quarterback to a mammoth contract extension. Goff agreed to a four-year, $212 million contract that includes $170 million guaranteed. This deal now has him as the second-highest paid quarterback in the NFL only behind Bengals superstar Joe Burrow, who signed a record-setting $275 million deal last September.
Now that he's being paid like an elite quarterback in the league, Detroit is hoping Goff can be the steady hand under center that helps propel the franchise to new heights as it hunts for that elusive Super Bowl title. While Goff and the Lions are coming off a successful season in 2023, backing up the Brinks truck for a quarterback doesn't always produce Lombardi Trophies.
In fact, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Eagles | $51M | 51 | 34-17 | 2-3 | 91.1 | 67:34 | 0-1 | |
| Cardinals | $46.1M | 65 | 28-36-1 | 0-1 | 92.2 | 94:46 | 0 | |
| Browns | $46M | 65 | 36-29 | 1-2 | 100.8 | 118:45 | 0 | |
| 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 |
| Bills | $43M | 93 | 63-30 | 5-5 | 92.2 | 167:78 | 0 |
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. That includes Goff, who was able to help bring the Los Angeles Rams to an appearance in Super Bowl LIII back in 2018. So, Goff has shown that he has the stuff to have Detroit knocking on the door of the Super Bowl.
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 below .500. In any event, if Goff can lead the Lions to their first-ever Super Bowl title, no one will blink twice when hearing he's the second-highest-paid quarterback in the league.
