Considering a Separate Salary Cap for Quarterbacks

One of my favorite movies from my childhood to watch around Halloween, and well, any time in between is Addams Family Values. The movie starts with the Addams Family welcoming a new baby, Pubert Addams. The other two children, Wednesday and Pugsley, instantly develop a jealous rivalry with Pubert and try to, well, kill him. Their mother, Morticia, confronts them and asks them if they think that when a new baby is born, one of the other children must die. Of course, this is a punchline, especially when the children answer “Yes.” But, this quote tends to ring in my head when I think of the NFL’s salary cap. 

Think about it, when new players are brought in, former players need to go. Sure, this is just standard NFL roster turnover in most cases, but what about when a player gets their 2nd or 3rd contract? If that player is a big contributor, they could make a significant amount more than their rookie contract. Which with the salary cap, means there’s less money available for those other players on the roster. If you pay your star Wide Receiver top-tier money, you may not be able to pay your star Cornerback when their time comes if they command that type of price tag as well. So, that’s when the Addams Family quote becomes true. When a new baby is born (a star WR earning top-tier money) one of the other children must die (money isn’t available to pay the CB and they walk). It’s especially true when it comes to Quarterbacks and the type of money they’ve been commanding lately. 

To save the other “children” some NFL owners have been discussing the possibility of a separate Quarterback salary cap. 

There’s no question about it, Quarterbacks are, for the most part, the most important players on a team. Sure, you see some teams have success with average at best Quarterbacks, but those teams usually have outstanding supporting casts. If they had a top-tier Quarterback, they’d probably be running the league. As a result, starting Quarterbacks are paid very handsomely. Even if they’re just starting caliber, they can still command a pretty penny, imagine if they’re elite. Trevor Lawrence just signed a five-year $275M deal. I wouldn’t consider Lawrence elite, but I’d say he’s a good Quarterback at this stage of his career.

Justin Jefferson, despite being a Viking, I’d consider to be one of the top receivers in the league. He just signed a four-year, $140M contract. Bump him to a five-year deal considering averages and he’d probably be at five years, $175M. That’s $100M less than Trevor Lawrence, who I’d say is just outside of the top 10 in terms of QB rankings. Despite being lower ranked at his specific position, Trevor Lawrence is still receiving over $100M more than Justin Jefferson, because he’s a Quarterback.  Of course, when it comes to the salary cap, many deals are back-loaded. If you want to have your mind blown, take a look at Deshaun Watson in Cleveland who is set to hit the Browns’ salary cap for $63.9M in 2024. That’s 25% of the salary cap. Personal, outside of football opinions on Deshaun Watson aside, he’s still not worth 25% of your cap. He’s not even ranked in the top 20 of starting QBs at this point. But guess what? He got it because he’s a Quarterback and had some good years before he signed that deal. 

Imagine the players Cleveland could have in place of Watson with that money. I’ll give you a hint, Kenny Clark, Jaire Alexander, and Rashan Gary combined still don’t hit $63M against the cap. So, if the Browns knocked Watson off the cap for 2024, they could have Clark, Alexander, Gary, and Jordan Love at QB for just $11M more against the cap. Imagine not having to sacrifice players like Clark, Alexander, and Gary to pay your Quarterback. That would be nice, right?   

Separate it? Or don’t?

Imagine the NFL does institute this concept. They decide okay, let’s put a cap on Quarterbacks, let’s make it $65M. No team can pay over that cap hit to any QB on their team. 

Great right? At first glance, it seems fairly positive. The rest of your team isn’t going to suffer at the hands of their leader making more money. You don’t need to sacrifice three star players to pay a QB that you’re not even sure is going to work out. Any QB you hold on your roster needs to fall within that salary cap. At first glance, this seems glorious. We can pay our QBs without caring about the rest of the team, just do them after and figure it out from there. We can pay our QB and still pay that WR, CB, or DE. With the ridiculous growth of QB contracts of course this seems like a godsend. But, where do we draw the line?

Every player classified as a QB would fall under this QB salary cap. After some pondering, I find this to be a risk as it could open a can of worms under the guise of “What is a quarterback?”

In the last few years, we’ve looked over at a player named Taysom Hill on the New Orleans Saints. Hill can throw the ball, run the ball, and catch the ball. He has a knack for finding the first down marker or end zone. But, what is he? Just a glorified runner? Perhaps. But it’s not in denial that he’s one of the best athletes in the league. What does Taysom get called though? QB, WR, Tight End? 

The issue with creating a Quarterback-only cap is that a guy like Taysom Hill could fall under either category. They could take a guy who could start at QB and claim he’s a tight end and keep him outside the QB cap to pay a different QB much more. Or even vice versa. This is why a separate QB cap, if created should fall under major scrutiny to ensure this doesn’t happen. You can’t have a rookie Quarterback making rookie money start for you on Sunday, but then use the QB salary cap money to sign a new outside linebacker. There will have to be rules in place to make sure a team can’t claim their inside linebacker.

In theory, I would love a QB-only cap. That way the rest of the team doesn’t need to suffer when the QB gets paid. But at the same time, I’d have to vote for the league to uphold very strict rules in regard to who meets the criteria and who does not.