Cowboys’ Dak Prescott headlines list of quarterbacks with this unfortunate common circumstance

The Dallas Cowboys head coach search is in full swing, and every sports website out there is watching the situation unfold with a fine-toothed comb and a microscope. Cowboys fans like me are disgusted with the fact that the current leading candidate for the job is OC Brian Schottenheimer.

Cowboys’ Owner/GM Jerry Jones is notorious for paying his coaches well below market value, and hiring Schottenheimer, a first-time head coach, would allow him to pay a smaller amount, and fill the contract with incentives instead of guaranteed money. How can the owner of the most valuable sports franchise in the world be so cheap?

Jerry does have one excuse to refute that question, however. Hours before the kickoff in Cleveland for the season’s first game, Jones signed franchise QB Dak Prescott to the richest contract in NFL history. Prescott signed a contract worth $240 million for the length of four seasons, averaging $60 million per year.

That number put Prescott at the top of the QB food chain as far as average annual salary goes, and it also brought much scrutiny from analysts across all major sports networks, as well as a particular group of fans on social media. How can the Cowboys pay other players if they are paying the quarterback so much money?

I still don’t think paying the quarterback top-dollar cripples the salary cap, but the 2024 season results for the NFL’s top-paid quarterbacks only strengthens that theory. Let’s analyze how the 2024 season went for the league’s top-eight highest-paid quarterbacks to understand why it gives the theory legs.

Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys

Average Annual Salary: $60 million
2024 Season Result: 3-5 record, missed playoffs

Dak Prescott is the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL, but he sure didn’t look like it in his limited time this season. Prescott tore his hamstring off the bone eight games into the season, and it was the Cooper Rush show after Dak headed to Injured Reserve.

The offense as a whole did not look like the unit that was near the top of the league in yards and scoring for the previous three seasons. Highly-paid quarterbacks are supposed to make up for deficiencies in the offense, but Prescott was far from that this year.

Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals

Average Annual Salary: $55 million
2024 Season Result: 9-8 record, missed playoffs

Joe Burrow had an MVP-worthy season in 2024, showing he definitely deserves to be at the top of the list on the financial side as well. Does it make sense for the franchise, though?

It sounds crazy to question you wanting Joe Burrow as your quarterback, but Cincinnati has had so much trouble keeping him upright for years now. Despite Burrow’s career year, the Bengals missed the playoffs. Could some of Burrow’s money have been invested in better players on the offensive line?

Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars

Average Annual Salary: $55 million
2024 Season Result: 2-8 record, missed playoffs

Trevor Lawrence had the worst record of the quarterbacks on this list, and his team missed the playoffs in a season where they were expected to challenge for the AFC South crown.

In a lost season, Lawrence was placed on Injured Reserve with a bum shoulder. Many questioned Lawrence’s new contract when the Jaguars announced it, and he has not played well since then.

Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers

Average Annual Salary: $55 million
2024 Season Result: 9-6 record, lost in Wildcard

The last time I wrote about Jordan Love, it was after he torched my Cowboys in the 2023 Divisional round of the playoffs. He didn’t light the world on fire in 2024, but he got his team to the playoffs.

Green Bay drew the seventh seed for the second consecutive season, but couldn’t replicate the magic from their 2023 playoff run. Love and the Packers entered AT&T Stadium as the seventh seed and completely dismantled the second-seeded Cowboys.

We hoped he could do the same in Philadelphia, but Love and the Packers couldn’t get it done. He finished the game with a 41.4 quarterback rating after throwing three interceptions.

Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins

Average Annual Salary: $53.1 million
2024 Season Result: 6-5 record, missed playoffs

Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill is fed up and wants out of Miami, but QB Tua Tagovailoa is locked into his $53.1 million per season contract. Tua missed some time with injury, but finished the season with a respectable 6-5 record.

It wasn’t enough to get his team to the playoffs, and now one of their highest-paid players no longer wants to be on the team. There are dark times in Miami, and many would blame the quarterback and his contract.

Jared Goff, Detroit Lions

Average Annual Salary: $53 million
2024 Season Result: 15-2 record, lost in Divisional

Jared Goff might be the only quarterback on this list who can say that his 2024 season result was not his fault. The top-seeded Detroit Lions lost in the Divisional round to the Washington Commanders, but don’t blame the offense.

Goff and the Lions put up 31 points, but the defense gave up 45. It was one of those days, and Aaron Glenn’s defense couldn’t contain QB Jayden Daniels or WR Terry McLaurin. Maybe if the quarterback wasn’t paid so highly, there would be more money to help add talent on defense.

Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers

Average Annual Salary: $52.5 million
2024 Season Result: 11-6 record, lost in Wildcard

Justin Herbert is the greatest quarterback who ever lived if you pay attention to most media markets, but he has yet to accomplish anything of note in the playoffs. His contract is one of the richest in the NFL, but he just lost in the Wildcard once again.

Herbert catches none of the flak that other quarterbacks like Dak Prescott and Lamar Jackson receive, but maybe he should because he fails in the playoffs just as often. Speaking of Lamar Jackson…

Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens

Average Annual Salary: $52 million
2024 Season Result: 12-5 record, lost in Divisional

Jackson completes the list as the 2024 NFL MVP favorite, and if he gets enough votes, will be crowned NFL MVP for the second season in a row. Not even Jackson’s heroics could save the Ravens from the Buffalo Bills.

An epic duel between Jackson and Bills QB Josh Allen showed us how exciting a matchup between two substantially paid quarterbacks can be. Another early playoff exit might have the Ravens re-thinking how their money is dispersed.