Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford received a three-year contract extension worth $53 million on Tuesday, the latest in a string of lucrative QB extensions this offseason. It started with the Ravens having to pay up for their Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco.
Then all of the Tony Romo haters got their opportunity to unleash on the Cowboys for signing a six-year $108 million extension. All three of these guys, for better or worse, will be among the six highest paid quarterbacks in the NFL this coming season, with Flacco sitting at the top just ahead of Drew Brees.
Stafford and Romo are going to make more than two-time Super Bowl champ Eli Manning, with Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers in the mix just above them. The bar has pretty much been set for the next batch of high-profile quarterbacks with contract negotiations coming up.
Cam Newton and Matt Ryan can expect a big day, based on what we've seen happen so far.
Stafford, just like Flacco and Romo, is still a curious case. This amount of money is obviously what the QBs are demanding in this market; so by all means, get that paper.
But Stafford and Flacco's numbers don't match what their salaries might suggest; certainly not in comparison to that of Manning, Rodgers and Brees. And even though Romo makes a solid case, he's obviously not the winner Flacco proved to be in last year's playoffs.
It's impossible to really judge the value strictly based off how these guys measure up against other quarterbacks around the league. These contracts are about how much the team values the particular quarterback, and what they believe the likelihood is of them landing a better one. Judging by some of these contracts, they don't think the chances are very good.
