National Football League

What Josh Allen’s new deal means for other NFL quarterbacks

Published Aug. 9, 2021 8:57 p.m. ET

By Martin Rogers
FOX Sports Columnist

Josh Allen's new deal was great news for Baker Mayfield and really good news for Lamar Jackson. Before that, Patrick Mahomes' contract was good news for everybody, but especially Deshaun Watson. Watson's deal was good news for Dak Prescott. And Dak Prescott's agreement with the Cowboys was particularly good news for Josh Allen.

And round and round it goes, with the National Football League’s quarterback money trail, ever-expanding and seemingly unstoppable, putting smiles on the faces of signal-callers around America and conjuring up financial windfalls that make your eyes pop at every turn.

Allen’s whopping deal with the Buffalo Bills is the latest QB agreement, committing the team to an additional six years and $258 million, at an average of $43 million per year.

Nick Wright reacts to Josh Allen's 6-year extension with the Buffalo Bills I THE HERD

Nick Wright reacts to Josh Allen's signing a six-year extension with the Buffalo Bills.

That’s so, so much money, isn’t it? No matter if you’re an oil heir, a Hollywood icon, a hedge fund guru or a lottery winner, it’s a ton of cash.

But soon — way sooner than you think — it might seem cheap.

"Good for the quarterback position overall" was Mayfield’s evaluation of the Allen contract, when asked by reporters at Cleveland Browns practice. "I’d be lying if I said otherwise."

No need to lie, Baker, because everyone sees it. The QBs around the league see it — because hey, however focused you are on your game, the fact that your position is capable of generating such spectacular salary figures is not something that can be ignored.

It’s not just that, though. The market for QBs, the figurehead position directly tied to each franchise’s hopes and dreams, is its own thing. If it had a motto, it would be something like "never a backward step." Because that’s how it goes.

Each new deal has to be bigger, better, bolder than the last one that was remotely similar to it. Which is how Allen ends up hooking $43 million for a campaign’s work just three years after Aaron Rodgers was pretty pleased to get an average of $33.5 million.

Marcellus Wiley: Lamar Jackson will get more money than Josh Allen; he's the better QB and has done more I SPEAK FOR YOURSELF

Josh Allen agreed to a six-year, $258 million ($150 million guaranteed) extension with the Buffalo Bills. Marcellus Wiley explains why he thinks Lamar Jackson deserves more money for being "a better player than Allen."

Thought the housing market was hot? Inflation goes at warp speed here, and what was a tremendous time to be a QB just keeps getting better, except for, you know, the whole part about those mean-spirited defensive linemen who want to flatten you.

A signature QB is the shiniest of status symbols. Having one increases not only the likelihood of winning a Super Bowl but also the perception of progress, and it’s easier to sell season tickets and merch when everyone is feeling buoyant about the future. Nothing generates that sentiment more than a stud under center.

Here is where the GMs are over a barrel in negotiations. Being unwilling to match or surpass the most recent deal that went to someone else’s QB is basically a tacit admission that their star is better than yours. That might work if the other player is Mahomes, but not so much for anyone else.

If Allen had been coming to the table without the precedents of Mahomes, Watson and Prescott, an offer of, say, $36 million per year would have seemed both generous and appropriate. It would have put Allen ahead of Russell Wilson and Rodgers, solidified the reality that the Bills see him calling the shots for the next several years and served as an indicator of the team's desire to maximize this window of opportunity for a strong and improving team.

But once Mahomes got his game-changing money (10 years, up to $503 million), Watson (four years, $156 million) was never going to agree to something that didn’t at least get close to it, and the Texans had to give it, or else it would have seemed they didn’t believe in their ultra-talented QB.

The Cowboys, once they decided Prescott is their guy moving forward, had to give it up to the tune of four years, $160 million, or it would've seemed to indicate a lack of confidence in the former Mississippi State star. "If the Cowboys don’t have Dak healthy, their season is a wash," FS1’s Joy Taylor said on "First Things First."

And well, once Prescott got that much, Allen, who threw for 37 touchdowns against 10 interceptions last season and took the Bills to the AFC Championship Game, was always going to be in the running for measurably more.

With the Allen domino from the 2018 NFL Draft having fallen, now Cleveland and Baltimore are on the clock with Mayfield and Jackson. We will see how it turns out.

Really?

We already know how it turns out. They’re going to get a lot of money. The Ravens can’t get away with offering the ultra-athletic 2019 MVP Jackson less than Allen, so expect him to land a contract around the $45 million per year mark. After all, Jackson’s people can argue that Allen is coming off only one great year, albeit a truly excellent one.

As for Mayfield, he isn't at that same level but will be more than happy to ride along in the slipstream. If he doesn’t pocket something approaching the mid-30s, it would be a surprise, and he knows it. That’s what it’s like to be a modern QB. Not everyone has to love you, but play reasonably well, and the deck will be stacked in your favor, with one seismic contract laying a path for the next.

"I’m happy for Josh," Mayfield added.

Of course you are Baker, for why would you not be?

Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports and the author of the FOX Sports Insider Newsletter. You can subscribe to the newsletter here.