NFL Exec: QBs Used to Get Paid for Super Bowl Wins, Not 'Good Regular-Season Stats'

One NFL team executive recently lamented how the pendulum has shifted in terms of when quarterbacks reset the market.

"Quarterbacks used to get paid for winning Super Bowls, not for having good regular-season stats," the exec said to The Athletic's Mike Sando. "It was Steve Young, Dan Marino, John Elway, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning. Then, all of a sudden, I think it started right around Matthew Stafford with the Lions (in 2013), where it suddenly became, 'Next man up.'"

There's no question that teams feel an immense level of pressure to sign a homegrown quarterback even if that player hasn't delivered when it counts the most.

Nine quarterbacks are earning more than $50 million annually and none has a title to his name by this point. The Cincinnati Bengals' Joe Burrow and Philadelphia Eagles' Jalen Hurts have at least competed in the Super Bowl.

The only thing that has really changed, though, is the amount QBs are getting paid.

Young, Marino, Elway and Manning were all widely regarded as elite signal-callers, and all had a long stretch of their careers when skeptics wondered whether they could win the "big one." In the case of Elway, the Denver Broncos lost three Super Bowls in the 1980s and didn't make their breakthrough until he was 37.

It's also worth noting that Elway became the highest-paid player in the NFL in 1987. Marino also claimed the honor in 1991.

More than anything, Brady, Joe Montana and Patrick Mahomes have skewed what's expected of quarterbacks in terms of team triumphs. Brady was a seven-time champion during his time with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, while Montana retired with four rings. Mahomes is a three-time champion at 28, so he has nearly caught up with "Joe Cool" already.

Only one team can win a championship in a given season. It makes sense that you'd pay young quarterbacks if they've at least proven they can deliver in the regular season in the hope that turns into bigger success.