Bang for Your Buck: The 10 Most Productive Quarterbacks for Their Salary

2011 was the year of the quarterback in the NFL.  

Drew Brees set the record for most passing yards in a season. Tom Brady also broke the record, and it flew completely under the radar. And three quarterbacks had over 5,000 yards passing.

This is the 2011 edition of the most productive quarterbacks in the league, for their salary.

You can see the 2010 edition here.

Honorable Mention: Drew Brees

2011 Salary: $10,000,000 
Yard-Dollar Ratio: $1,826 per yard
Touchdown-Dollar Ratio: $217,391 per touchdown
Completion-Dollar Ratio: $21,367 per completion

Drew Brees had statistically one of the best years in NFL history, throwing for an NFL-record 5,476 yards and 46 touchdowns, with only 14 interceptions.  He is also the leading candidate to win the NFL's Most Valuable Player award.

Brees' team, the New Orleans Saints, didn't do too shabby either; they will host Detroit in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs.

10. Josh Freeman

2011 Salary: $5,200,000
Yard-Dollar Ratio: $1,440 per yard
Touchdown-Dollar Ratio: $325,000 per touchdown
Completion-Dollar Ratio: $15,028 per completion

Josh Freeman has slowly developed into a quality starting quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  At $5.2 million, he is also one of the league's most salary-efficient quarterbacks. 

9. Cam Newton

2011 Salary: $5,506,375  
Yard-Dollar Ratio: $1,359 per yard
Touchdown-Dollar Ratio: $262,308 per touchdown
Completion-Dollar Ratio: $17,762 per completion

Cam Newton emerged in 2011 as one of the premier rookies in the NFL, breaking the rookie passing yards mark with 4,051 yards.  

Newton gets a bump in pay next year, as his base salary increases to $1,376,159 on top of his yearly signing bonus of $3,629,500. 

8. Tarvaris Jackson

2011 Salary: $4,000,000
Yard-Dollar Ratio: $1,294 per yard
Touchdown-Dollar Ratio: $285,714 per touchdown
Completion-Dollar Ratio: $14,760 per completion

In his first season as the Seattle Seahawks' starting quarterback, Tarvaris Jackson threw for 14 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.  

His numbers were not super impressive, but with a $4 million salary, they were enough to make him one of the league's most cost-effective players. 

7. Matt Moore

2011 Salary: $2,500,000
Yard-Dollar Ratio: $1,001 per yard
Touchdown-Dollar Ratio: $156,250 per touchdown
Completion-Dollar Ratio: $11,904 per completion

Matt Moore took over under center for the Dolphins three games into the season.  

In the most action he has seen in his career, he threw for 2,497 yards and 16 touchdowns. 

6. Joe Flacco

2011 Salary: $2,380,000 
Yard-Dollar Ratio: $659 per yard
Touchdown-Dollar Ratio: $119,000 per touchdown
Completion-Dollar Ratio: $7,628 per completion

Joe Flacco had another solid year with the Baltimore Ravens, leading them to a first-round bye in the playoffs.

He threw for 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions with 3,610 yards. 

5. Ryan Fitzpatrick

2011 Salary: $2,300,000  
Yard-Dollar Ratio: $600 per yard
Touchdown-Dollar Ratio: $95,833 per touchdown
Completion-Dollar Ratio: $6,515 per completion 

Ryan Fitzpatrick flies under the radar in Buffalo, but is quietly one of the league's most productive quarterbacks.

While he puts up good numbers, Fitzpatrick's big flaw is his knack to turn the ball over.  His 23 interceptions led the league in 2011.

4. Andy Dalton

2011 Salary: $1,300,000 
Yard-Dollar Ratio: $382 per yard
Touchdown-Dollar Ratio: $65,000 per touchdown
Completion-Dollar Ratio: $4,333 per completion

Andy Dalton is another rookie, along with Newton, who came in to a starting job his first year and excelled.

He threw for 3,400 yards and 20 touchdowns as he led the Cincinnati Bengals to the playoffs.

3. Colt McCoy

2011 Salary: $1,240,000
Yard-Dollar Ratio: $453 per yard
Touchdown-Dollar Ratio: $88,571 per touchdown
Completion-Dollar Ratio: $4,679 per completion

Colt McCoy would have likely been higher on this list had he not missed the last three games of the season with a concussion.

Regardless, McCoy threw for 2,733 yards and 265 completions. 

2. Rex Grossman

2011 Salary: $1,150,000  
Yard-Dollar Ratio: $364 per yard
Touchdown-Dollar Ratio: $71,875 per touchdown
Completion-Dollar Ratio: $4,339 per completion

While Rex Grossman is not exactly what you would call a star quarterback in the league, his low salary is the reason he makes the list.

Grossman threw for 16 touchdowns and 20 interceptions for a mediocre Washington Redskins squad. 

1. John Skelton

2011 Salary: $493,000 
Yard-Dollar Ratio: $257 per yard
Touchdown-Dollar Ratio: $44,818 per touchdown
Completion-Dollar Ratio: $3,264 per completion 

John Skelton was thrust into the starting role for the Arizona Cardinals after starting quarterback Kevin Kolb went down in the ninth week of the season.  

In the seven games in which he started, Skelton threw for 1,913 yards, just 42 yards less than Kolb threw in the nine games he started.

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