Pat Mahomes is only the eighth-highest paid NFL player, earning less than four guys who have never won a championship.
Even though Mahomes, the quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs, signed a record-breaking $450 million contract in 2020, his average annual value (AAV) puts him behind several other NFL quarterbacks.
Furthermore, a few quarterbacks who made more money than Mahomes haven’t even advanced to the Super Bowl.
As the NFL’s successor to Tom Brady, Mahomes is 2-1 in the big game and has won two world championships.
When the Chiefs play the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday, February 11 in Las Vegas, they have an opportunity to win it all again.
During the 2023 season, Joe Burrow led the NFL in AAV, earning an incredible $55 million.
Burrow struggled with injuries, and Cincinnati’s 9-8 final record kept the Bengals out of the postseason.
But Cincinnati just won the AFC Championship a year ago, and they made it to the Super Bowl in 2021.
Justin Herbert is the next person on the AAV list, and that’s when Mahomes starts to get significantly underpaid.
This season, Herbert earned $52.5 million, $7.5 million more than Mahomes.
After finishing 5-12, the Los Angeles Chargers hired Jim Harbaugh from Michigan in an attempt to get more out of Herbert, who has produced impressive stats but hasn’t even approached the Super Bowl.
With $52 million, Lamar Jackson is ranked third on the AAV list.
With a Super Bowl spot on the line, Jackson was disappointed after Mahomes and the Chiefs eliminated Baltimore from the AFC Championship game.
Even if he might win NFL MVP once more during the Honors ceremony the following week, he has yet to make it to the big game.
The NFL’s best quarterback will have his contract renegotiated in the offseason with the next two quarterbacks who finish ahead of Mahomes.
This season, Kyler Murray earned $46.1 million.
Murray guided a 4-13 Arizona squad after missing the first part of the season.
Deshaun Watson made more this year than Mahomes, too, for some reason.
In 2023, Watson made $46 million, $1 million more than the quarterback who is playing in the Super Bowl for the fourth time of his career.
The quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, Watson, has likewise failed to reach the Super Bowl and is currently regarded as one of the worst moves in NFL history.
The Chiefs are undoubtedly benefiting financially from Mahomes’ longer contract, which pays him only $45 million annually, even though he is expected to make nearly half a billion dollars in his current agreement. Mahomes will continue to lead the Chiefs to the Super Bowl.
