5 NFL QBs who will surpass Jared Goff with their next contract

And there you have it. Jared Goff got paid! After being cast off by the Los Angeles Rams in the Matthew Stafford trade, the former No. 1 overall pick out of Cal has the long-term contract he deserves as the face of the Detroit Lions franchise. Goff just inked a multi-year deal that will have him under contract with the Lions through the 2028 NFL season at $212 million. That is a ton of money.

Fortunately for the Lions, Goff did not reset the market with his newest deal. Where things stand now, Goff is now the eighth-highest paid quarterback in the league, trailing the likes of Patrick Mahomes ($450 million), Joe Burrow ($275 million), Lamar Jackson ($260 million) and others. While the next quarterback slated for a big pay day is obvious (Dak Prescott), the next guys up are anything but that.

So what I am going to do today is take a look at who are five strong candidates to be paid big money next in the wake of Goff's big deal with Detroit. Some are still on their rookie contracts, while others have received more than one contract from the team who drafted them out of college back in the day. While I am not certain all five will be getting more than $212 million on their next deal, I like their odds.

Let's start with quite possibly the best first-round quarterback we have seen since Burrow came out.

5. Houston Texans QB C.J. Stroud

After a stellar first season with the Houston Texans, C.J. Stroud is well on his way towards making well above what Jared Goff just got from the Detroit Lions. Stroud is still very much on his rookie deal with a fifth-year option available in 2027. At that point, the former Ohio State star will be just 26 years old Crazy! What isn't crazy is Stroud will probably be in the $400 million range during his next big pay day.

I think the player to look at when it comes to getting the bag prematurely before the end of his rookie deal would have to be Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals. He was the No. 1 overall pick out of LSU only three years before Stroud went No. 2 to the Texans. I would venture to guess that if Stroud play like he did last season for the next two years or so, he will get a multi-year extension from Houston.

With the way that money is being handed out these days, it is only a matter of time for Stroud here.

4. San Francisco 49ers QB Brock Purdy

This is absolutely absurd, but we are about to live in a world where Mr. Irrelevant holds a top-10 contract in the NFL. That's right. The San Francisco 49ers are going to have to pay former seventh-round pick Brock Purdy an inordinate amount of money. No, I don't think he has the chance to reset the market like C.J. Stroud could with Houston, but Purdy is going to see his bank account explode.

Purdy will make a shade over $1 million this year and next for the 49ers before he is slated to hit free agency. To me, all he needs to do is play like he did the last two years and he will be making a quarter of a billion dollars on his next 49ers contract. General manager John Lynch may not want to do that, but this is a man who traded up twice to No. 3 to take Trey Lance out of North Dakota State...

Unless the 49ers franchise tag him in three years, Purdy is bound to make more than what Goff got.

3. Jacksonville Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence

Believe it or not, this feels like an inevitability as well. Although he has a lot to prove entering the final two seasons of his rookie contract, as the Jacksonville Jaguars did pick up his fifth-year option for 2025, show us what you are all about, Trevor Lawrence. The Jaguars are in a division with Houston, the other team I foresee dominating it for the next decade or so, mostly because of one C.J. Stroud.

While one would have thought the former Clemson star was poised to be a market resetter as the best quarterback prospect to come out since Andrew Luck, Lawrence has been more inconsistent that consistently great. His first year with the Jaguars was a total wash for Urban Meyer reasons. While he did show great promise two years ago under Doug Pederson, Lawrence regressed last year.

Right now, I think time and organizational culture are in Lawrence's favor to make around $250 million.

2. Green Bay Packers QB Jordan Love

What's Jordan Love got to do (got to do) with it? Absolutely everything. With the former first-round pick out of Utah State wrapping up the second half of his second contract with the team, general manager Brian Gutekunst better be ready to pay up. Love had a sensational first season as the new starting quarterback of the Green Bay Packers last year. If he replicates it, he will make $400 million.

This is why Green Bay needs to go all-in and try to win the Super Bowl this year. Right now, I would say they are the third or fourth-most likely team in the NFC to do that behind Detroit and San Francisco. Truth be told, Green Bay appears to have struck gold for the third time in a row when it comes to quarterback evaluation. They went from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers to Love in the last 30 seasons.

Unless he gets hurt or proves to be a total pumpkin, Green Bay will have to break the bank for Love.

1. Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott

You already know! The Dallas Cowboys are 1000 percent going to make this the Second Summer of Dak Prescott because the only thing larger than the sun itself it Jerry Jones' massive octogenarian ego. Rather than pay the man, Dallas is going to drag this through the mud because when you cannot win a Super Bowl for the life of you, you have to win the headlines. It is the only way to stay relevant.

We did this same old dog and pony show four years ago, and it sucked then. It is going to suck now, so get ready for that! In every olympiad from here on out, whenever this wonderful planet is in the midst of an election year and a leap year, it will be coincided with another Summer of Dak. Prescott will go from making Kirk Cousins money at $160 million to making at least something $300 million.

Truth be told, we are looking at a quarterback who could be resetting the market with Prescott here.