The most common metric for comparing contracts is the so-called “new-money” average. There are other ways to compare and contrast player deals.
For Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, the new-money average of $55 million beats the existing record of $52.5 million, set earlier this year by Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert. Who barely beat Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson’s $52 million. Who barely beat Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts’s $51 million.
Languishing at $45 million (which three years ago was the record) is the best quarterback in football, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Consider some of the other differences between Burrow’s deal and other quarterback contracts, per a source with knowledge of the various details.
Burrow’s injury guarantee at signing is $219 million. That number is: $93 million more than Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, $77.528 million more than Mahomes, $69 million more than Bills quarterback Josh Allen, $59 million more than Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray, $39 million more than Hurts, $34 million more than Jackson, and $25.27 million more than Herbert.
Burrow’s deal has a full guarantee at signing of $146.51 million. That’s $83.4 million more than Mahomes, $51.5 million more than Prescott, $46.5 million more than Allen, $43.2 million more than Murray, $36.5 million more than Hurts, $12.7 million more than Herbert, and $11.5 million more than Jackson.
Burrow’s full guarantee by March of 2025 (year three of the deal) is $55.7 miliion more than Prescott, $48.56 million more than Murray, $41.76 million more than Allen, $40.27 million more than Mahomes, $24.45 million more than Hurts, and $24.02 million more than Herbert.
It’s the best deal any player has signed in NFL history, so far. And, yes, it eventually will be surpassed. At some point, if Burrow continues to play as well as he has, he will set another high-water mark for all NFL quarterbacks.
