In 1848, James Marshall discovered gold at Sutter’s Mill in California, California was added as a state, railroads were built, and of course a rush began that would put a lot of gold into people’s hands. In the Gold Rush, as it was called, people rushed to California to strike it rich, make themselves famous, and not miss out.
The NFL is entering a gold rush in 2024, with teams looking to sign quarterbacks to big contracts before the price gets too high. On Monday, the Detroit Lions signed Jared Goff to a major four-year extension worth $212 million, including $170 million in guaranteed money. His 53 million APY makes him the second-highest paid quarterback in the NFL, behind Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow. Detroit was the first team to win QB gold and is rushing to get other teams to extend it before the balloon pops. While you don’t want to be the last team to give your QB a game-breaking extension, any new contract for a QB will likely require a major reset of the market.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at some QBs scheduled for extensions and see if they can strike gold with their respective teams.
Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins
It will be interesting to see how Tua’s contract develops going forward. Given Tagovailoa’s success at center, you could argue that Miami would be wise to extend him, especially since WR Jaylen Waddle has also been considered for a major extension. Resetting the market may also not be a wise choice. . Tua is a great QB for the Dolphins’ system and has the timing and precision to make the offense really successful. But unless Tagovailoa steps up in one of the games, their struggles in the playoffs will continue to plague them. Could Miami be a sneaky candidate to do the same thing the Rams did to trade Matthew Stafford? Who would McDaniel’s Stafford be in this case? Perhaps we’ll hear about another QB here soon. Based on the above, I expect Tagovailoa to get a contract extension with Miami, but he’s a long way from setting a record..
Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars
My own personal biases aside, I believe Trevor Lawrence is a very good QB. Last year’s struggles on offense clouded the idea that what people should focus on is a very good signal caller who can catch fire and take over the game of football. Lawrence had his fifth-year option picked up by the Jaguars this offseason (of course), and both parties say extension talks have begun. This should be very simple, and the Jaguars probably won’t mess it up. Trevor Lawrence is set to receive a contract that will make him one of the highest-paid QBs in the NFL..
Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers
An expanded version of Love would also be very fascinating, thanks to the timeline of Love’s career. Sure, his first year as a starter ended with highlight-reel-worthy passes and completions, but I understand why you wouldn’t want to pay a QB who only played one full season as a starter. can. Did he do enough that season to solidify him as the QB of the future? I think that’s the current situation in Green Bay. Do you want to pay him now? I think so. Because I’d rather be proactive and get a deal done than wait and have to wait and blow up the market (A quick look at the Texas team). My final prediction: Jordan Love will get a record contract, but not until after the 2024 season.
Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
Oh, Dallas. how did we get here? I wrote last week about how Dallas was playing a dangerous game of waiting for other deals to come in before making any kind of deal with Dak, but now that Goff is receiving $53 million annually. , Dallas is in crisis. The problem here is that Dallas also needs to pay WR CeeDee Lamb, LG Tyler Smith, and EDGE Micah Parsons. All are due and deserve extensions. Dallas waited too long to get a deal done with Dak, and now they’ll either pay him big money or watch him just walk away and eat the cap. However, Dak has no guaranteed money left on his contract. If Dallas wants to trade Dak so he doesn’t have to give him a contract extension, that would come into play here, but I think it’s a last resort type of move. From the Dak side, I think he’ll get a big new contract, whether it’s from Dallas or someone else. The second half is up to the Cowboys. My prediction: Dak will get a huge contract, but it will be in free agency after the season and not from the Cowboys..
