Who is the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL in 2024?

Cincinnati Bengals star Joe Burrow boasts the highest salary of any quarterback in the NFL - and indeed any player in any position.

According to figures compiled by Spotrac, a website that specialises in ranking football players’ financial values, Burrow leads the league’s top earners with an average annual pay packet of $55 million, ahead of LA Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, who is paid an average of $52.5m per season. Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson completes the podium, coming in just behind Herbert on $52m a year.

Quarterbacks dominate NFL’s biggest earners

Per Spotrac, quarterbacks occupy the top 15 places in the list of the NFL’s biggest yearly salaries. San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa, who picks up $34m on average per annum, is the top-paid non-QB.

Burrow, who is currently recovering from a wrist injury that ruled him out of the rest of the season in Week 11, became the NFL’s biggest annual earner when he signed a five-year contract extension with the Bengals in November.

The 27-year-old’s deal is not the most expensive in the league in terms of overall value; indeed, it comes in significantly behind the $450m deal that Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes penned in Kansas City in 2020. However, that’s because Mahomes’ Chiefs agreement is due to run for 10 years, working out at a $45m average salary that leaves him eighth in the NFL when it comes to annual pay.

Mahomes vs Jackson in AFC Championship

This weekend, Mahomes comes up against the Jackson, the highest-paid player left in the postseason and the favourite for the 2023 MVP award. The Ravens host the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday, in what will be Baltimore’s first appearance in the conference title decider since the Marylanders won the Super Bowl in the 2012 season.

Kansas City, who are the defending NFL champions, have now reached six straight AFC Championships with Mahomes at quarterback, and are chasing a fourth Super Bowl appearance in five years.

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NFC decider features QB well behind top earners

Meanwhile, the NFC Championship Game will be a clash of two quarterbacks who are lower down the top-earner charts. According to Spotrac, the Detroit Lions’ Jared Goff is only the 16th highest-earning QB, with average annual pay of $33.5m - and the San Francisco 49ers’ Brock Purdy is all the way back as the 65th best-paid in his position in the NFL, with a comparatively paltry salary of $934,000 a year.

Selected by San Francisco with the 262nd and final pick of the 2022 draft, Purdy has exceeded expectations, establishing himself as the 49ers’ starting QB and playing himself into 2023′s MVP contenders.

It doesn’t look like San Francisco can improve the 24-year-old’s terms in the immediate future, though. CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones has noted that, due to NFL rules on player contracts, the Californian franchise can’t give him a new deal until 2025 at the earliest.

AFC and NFC Championship Games: when, where, how to watch?

In the AFC Championship Game, the Ravens host the Chiefs at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, on Sunday 28 January 2024, with kick-off scheduled for 3:05pm ET/12:05pm PT. The game will be broadcast in the US on CBS and Paramount+.

Later on Sunday, the Lions visit the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, where kick-off is at 6:40pm ET/3:40pm PT. In the States, the clash will air on FOX.

Detroit, who have never reached a Super Bowl, will be featuring in their first conference championship game since the 1991 season. San Francisco, meanwhile, are out to secure their first ticket to the Super Bowl since the 2019 campaign, when they were beaten to the Vince Lombardi Trophy by the Chiefs.

You can stream both Games live on the online platform fuboTV, which offers users a free trial.

AFC and NFC Championship Games: live with AS USA

You’ll also have the option of following live-text commentary of the Chiefs vs the Ravens and the Lions vs the 49ers at AS USA.

Video - Lamar Jackon’s quest for first Super Bowl:

Get more news on the playoffs in our dedicated NFL section.