How to build an NFL roster with an expensive QB: Tips, myths

The big story of the first few weeks of NFL training camp has been the massive new deals for franchise quarterbacks.

After Trevor Lawrence signed a five-year, $275 million contract with the Jaguars in June, Tua Tagovailoa inked a four-year, $212.4 million pact with the Dolphins, and Jordan Love followed with a four-year, $220 million extension in Green Bay. That’s more than $700 million on paper to three quarterbacks who have won a total of two playoff games.

I don’t love using playoff success as the sole barometer of quarterback play, but there’s a realistic conversation to be had here. Since the league moved to its slotted draft system in 2011, we know quarterbacks on rookie contracts have become the most popular roster-building philosophy across the NFL. Draft a quarterback, pay him a fraction of what veteran quarterbacks are making for three to five years, use the savings to surround that young passer with talent and open up a championship window. Draft the right guy — as the Texans did with C.J. Stroud last year — and a franchise can be transformed overnight.

There are various factors impacting the three new members of the Second Contract Club and why they didn’t make deep playoff runs on their rookie deals. Love was stuck behind Aaron Rodgers. Tagovailoa dealt with injuries, including a concussion that cost him a chance to play during the 2022 playoffs. Lawrence had to overcome former coach Urban Meyer and struggled through the second half of last season while playing through his own ailments.

At the same time, there’s a tough question to be asked. The Dolphins, as an example, didn’t win a playoff game while Tagovailoa was making about $7.5 million per year. How will they manage to make a deep run into February with him making more than $53 million per season, more than seven times his prior average annual salary? How will the Jags pull that off with Lawrence’s salary more than quintupling to $55 million per year?

I’m here to try to answer those questions and provide some best practices. What does the blueprint for winning a title with a quarterback on a second contract look like? It’s easier to visualize for a quarterback such as Patrick Mahomes, of course, but what have the Chiefs done to make their path easier? How does a team win once its quarterback gets much more expensive?

Before we start on the tips, let’s put those raises into context. To break down how to build a roster with a more expensive quarterback, we have to understand how those contracts work.

Jump to a section:
The second contract impact comes early
When is a quarterback actually ‘essential?’
Franchises can’t pay everyone … right?
Who are the players teams can live without?
Why teams should be willing to move on
The value of keeping your own draft picks
Where could players on rookie deals thrive?
The future, and what we should learn

The financial myths (and realities) of a second-contract quarterback

Reality No. 1: This isn’t a literal swap of money from one position to another.