Winners and Losers of Trevor Lawrence Becoming the Highest-Paid Quarterback in the NFL

Trevor Lawrence won’t be leaving Jacksonville anytime soon after signing a new contract extension worth $275 million over five years. The former number one overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft is still under his rookie deal for another year and could also sign his rookie fifth-year option before this new deal kicks in. Therefore, getting this deal done wasn’t the biggest priority for Jacksonville, but at least they locked up their starting quarterback for the long haul. This deal makes Trevor Lawrence the highest-paid QB in the league. This deal will certainly send ripples around the league, so let’s break down who it will affect.

Winners

Trevor Lawrence - Lawrence made off with a ton of money in this deal. Since coming into the league, Lawrence has committed the most turnovers out of any quarterback in the league. Through three seasons of play, Lawrence has averaged 3923 passing yards, 19 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions a season. That level of play is expected from an average quarterback in the league, but with this deal, he will be making as much as the best at the position. With all that said, Lawrence has potential and is just starting out in this league. Securing their quarterback now, not only puts a lot of pressure on other teams around them but also prevents Lawrence from being distracted by trying to get a new contract next season.

Tua Tagovailoa - With the Dolphins being hesitant this offseason to sign Tua Tagovailoa to a new deal, they may end up paying for it here soon. Tua is coming off his best season with the Dolphins and even led the league in passing yards with 4624 passing yards, 29 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. Without Lawrence’s new deal, Tua would have had a tough case trying to get the Dolphins to commit to him long-term with a mega-deal given his injury history. However, the vast majority of people would agree that Tua is a better quarterback than Lawrence. That should be enough to either push the Dolphins to give him around $55 million annually or Tua can go and get that type of money in free agency after next season.

Losers

Jacksonville Jaguars - With Trevor Lawrence at the helm, the Jaguars have only won the AFC South once and with that opportunity won a single playoff game. Lawrence’s overall career record is 20-30 with the Jaguars making this signing even more head-scratching. However, this team has historically been desperate for even decent quarterback play, so they have made it clear that Lawrence’s potential is enough for them to lock him down long-term no matter the cost. This does feel like a desperation signing for the Jaguars which likely won’t set the team up for success in the future.

Miami Dolphins - The Dolphins have made several offseason moves, including signing Jaylen Waddle, which may indicate they don’t plan on resigning Tua. With the Dolphins being strapped for salary cap space for the next few seasons, they have shown through their offseason moves that they believe the receivers are making the offense successful and not necessarily Tua’s quarterback play. If Lawrence had been given a reasonable salary in his extension, the Dolphins may have found a way to make it work, but now the Dolphins will likely have to find a new quarterback in a bad quarterback draft class next year. Not having a plan at the quarterback position is a scary reality that the Dolphins may face next season in the post-Tua era now that they likely won’t be able to find the cap space to make him work long-term.

Dallas Cowboys - After Jerry Jones declared that the Cowboys were “all-in on 2024” they have followed it up with the worst offseason of any NFL team. Not only have they made no splashy moves, but other teams around them have set the market at various positions, which could mean that the Cowboys will have to overpay their players just to resign their core. With Trevor Lawrence resetting the Quarterback market at $55 million annually, the Cowboys can either sign Dak Prescott or sign their two best players Ceedee Lamb and Micah Parsons. It would make the most sense for the Cowboys to resign Lamb and Parsons because both guys dominate their side of the ball while Dak has been widely overrated for years. Either way, the Cowboys will be losing a big part of their team after next season as a result of other teams signing their primary guys to long-term deals earlier.