Top Dollar Quarterback Suffers Horrible Fall Down The List
Strategically, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott received a huge signing bonus last year making him number one on Forbes’ top ten highest NFL players’ list. However this year he falls down the list to number ten. Let’s discuss why.
Last week, Forbes came back with the top ten highest-paid players who received over $489 million combined this year compared to last year’s $418 million. The NFL just continues to prove that they are leaders in all sports leagues. Everyone wanted to talk about quarterback Tom Brady who is 45 years old finally being the highest-paid player in the league since he has been pushing off his paydays to get better teams in New England.
Tom Brady Compared to Dak Prescott
Tom Brady’s off-field deals are just amazing to me. I didn’t realize he had founded or co-founded five different companies such as TB12 (the nutrition and training company), Autograph (NFT company) which numerous sports fans have been raving about, and Religion of Sports (media company) which he co-founded with Michael Strahan and documentarian Gotham Chopra. Not to mention his deals with Hertz and six other brands.
Brady was $14.5 million behind Dak Prescott last year. After announcing his retirement in February, I don’t think many thought he would be topping the 2022 list. However, did anyone realize that the Dallas Cowboys had a player in the top ten? I sure did and was shocked when I read about it. Honestly, I didn’t expect him to be in the top ten this year. Not after going to the bank last year.
The Top Ten List
Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady Total $75 million, On-Field: $30 million, Off-Field: $45 million
Los Angeles quarterback Matthew Stafford Total: $65.5, On-Field: $61.5 million, Off-Field: $4 million
Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers Total: $53 million, On-Field: $42 million, Off-Field: $11 million
Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes Total: $51.5 million, On-Field: $29.5 million, Off-Field: $22 million
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen Total: $51 million, On-Field: $47 million, Off-Field: $4 million
Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson Total: $45.7 million, On-Field: $45.7 million, Off-Field: $.5 million
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins Total: $42.5 million, On-Field: $40 million, Off-Field: $2.5 million
Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson Total: $38 million, On-Field: $24 million, Off-Field: $14 million
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray Total: $33.5 million, On-Field: $30 million, Off-Field: $3.5 million
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott Total: $33.5 million, On-Field: $20 million, Off-Field: $13.5 million
Quarterback Falling In The Rankings
Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott who is 29 years old is said to be making $20 million for this on-field play and $13 million off-field for a total of $33 million. This put him at number ten on the list. Last year, Prescott ranked number one after his payday. Remember he received $87 million when he signed his four-year, $160 million contract with Dallas. I remember thinking wow, Prescott is really getting paid now especially since he was paid an NFL-record $66 million signing bonus upfront.
So was that smart? Or should it be spread out over all four years? We see this year he is now only making $33 million which is a big drop. I think this is a great plan for the players. They are getting a huge chunk of their contracts before their team could cut them if they fall off or become injured. Hopefully, Prescott put a large amount of it in savings. But I’m not snubbing my nose at $33 million with $13 million coming from his deals with Pepsi, Nike’s Jordan Brand, and a dozen other brands. I can’t help, but wonder why isn’t it a little more?
Prescott vs Murray
Let’s look at Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray who is 25 years old made more than Dak Prescott. He is making $30 million on-field with $3.5 million coming from his off-field deals. He’s making $10 million more than Dak in on-field salary, but I don’t really care.
Like I said above, Dak’s advisers got him a great deal last year by getting all that bonus money for him to pocket. While Murray if he gets injured or the Cardinals for some reason don’t want him any longer then they can cut him without paying him the rest of his contract. I think Murray making almost $10 million less than Dak on advertisements is right on target. There have to be more NFL fans who know Dak Prescott than Kyler Murray.
Overall, both the Dallas Cowboys and Dak Prescott won with his contract. This list shows how. Dak won by getting money for the rest of his life to live on and change his family’s lives on. But the Dallas Cowboys won by paying it upfront and spreading the rest over four years, so they have the cap room when seen during the Anthony Barr deal. I look for Dallas to put even more of that $19 million to work before the end of the season to pick up some valuable pieces to make a run.