NFL Exec on Russell Wilson, Other Massive QB Contracts: 'Who Got What They Paid For?'

There may be some buyer's remorse in the NFL when it comes to massive quarterback contracts.

"Who got what they paid for?" one league executive asked of last year's spending, per Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated.

Breer noted last offseason had six teams pay at least $40 million annually in new contracts for quarterbacks: Arizona Cardinals (Kyler Murray), Cleveland Browns (Deshaun Watson), Denver Broncos (Russell Wilson), Green Bay Packers (Aaron Rodgers), Los Angeles Rams (Matthew Stafford) and Las Vegas Raiders (Derek Carr).

It is a fair question to ask when looking at last offseason in a vacuum.

Carr isn't even on the Raiders any longer, Rodgers may be headed to the New York Jets this offseason, and the other players either dealt with injuries or poor performance last year. Stafford, who signed his contract after the Rams' Super Bowl win in 2022, played just nine games and went 3-6 as a starter, Murray was 3-8 as a starter and tore his ACL, Watson was suspended and then struggled to find his form, and Wilson looked nothing like he did on the Seattle Seahawks.

Denver acquired Wilson in a high-profile trade after he was a Pro Bowler in nine of his 10 seasons with the Seahawks—only to see him go 4-11 as a starter with 16 touchdown passes to 11 interceptions.

Perhaps he will bounce back in 2023 with new head coach Sean Payton, but so far Wilson has been nowhere near what the Broncos were looking for after the trade.

As for Watson, he was just 3-3 as a starter and completed 58.2 percent of his passes for seven touchdowns and five interceptions. He completed better than 67 percent of his passes in each of his final three seasons playing for the Houston Texans.

There should still be some context added to the situation before other teams hesitate to give out major contracts to the position.

It is difficult to envision sustained success in today's pass-happy NFL without an impact player at quarterback, and Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady winning four of the last five Lombardi Trophies only serves to underscore that reality.

The best-case scenario would be for a team to have a star quarterback on a rookie contract with the money to address other positions. Teams like the Cincinnati Bengals (Joe Burrow) and Philadelphia Eagles (Jalen Hurts) have reached the Super Bowl with that formula the past two seasons.

But having a game-changer at quarterback is better than not having one. There is surely no buyer's remorse for the Chiefs when it comes to Mahomes' massive extension from 2020.

Finding a Mahomes is easier said than done, but teams will surely look to continue paying quarterbacks in the foreseeable future.