QBs Dominate NFL Cash, But Eagles Have Mastered Salary Cap

The numbers have gotten so large in the NFL that it’s almost impossible to consider how much growth there has been in salary numbers. Teams can pay their players up to $279.2 million in the 2025 season, and the ability to spend that money wisely is one of the key aspects to making the playoffs and developing a winning culture. Nobody knows this better than general manager Howie Roseman of the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.

Quarterbacks are considered the most important players in the NFL and the key to success in any given season. There was a time when this was not the case. Go back to the 1960s and ‘70s, perhaps the two decades that had the biggest impact on the sport’s growth.

The undefeated 17-0-0 Miami Dolphins of 1972 – one of the sport’s legendary teams – had a quarterback in Bob Griese who started five games in the regular season while 38-year-old backup Earl Morrall was under center for nine games. Griese threw for 638 yards that season – a total Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen could top in 1 ½ strong games.

Griese was still on the bench when the Dolphins defeated the Cleveland Browns in the divisional playoff and came off the bench to throw for 70 yards in the AFC Championship game triumph over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Griese was the starting quarterback for the Dolphins in Super Bowl VII against the Washington Redskins, and he threw for a grand total of 88 yards in the franchise’s most important game ever.

The Dolphins were dependent on the running game with Larry Csonka, Mercury Morris and Jim Kiick along with the spectacular No-Name defense that head coach Don Shula built. The No-Names included Manny Fernandez, Nick Buoniconti, Dick Anderson and Jake Scott.

Cowboys’ Dak Prescott has a huge salary cap number

Quarterbacks have been considered the most important players for many years. They are paid better than any other players by wide miles. Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys is at the top of the list, as he has a cap hit of $50.5 million this season, and 14 of the top 20 cap hits are quarterbacks.

The highest paid non-quarterback is Maxx Crosby of the Las Vegas Raiders, who ranks 9^th with a cap hit of $38.1 million. Crosby is one of the top pass rushers in the NFL when he is healthy, which he was not last season. An early-season ankle injury impacted his play all season and he had just 7.5 sacks in the 12 games he played.

If Crosby’s lofty status is somewhat questionable, the No. 2 non-quarterback on the list is downright shocking. The lowly Carolina Panthers are paying right tackle Taylor Moton a shocking amount. He has a cap hit of $31.3 million for a team that won two games in 2023 and five games last year. Moton is a nine-year veteran from Western Michigan who was a second-round draft pick in 2017.

Crosby is not the best non-quarterback in the NFL and Moton is a long way from the second best. Salaries are not paid to players simply based on their ability and production, and fans should get that thought out of their minds.

However, money that is wisely spent can go a long way towards success of the franchise in any season. No team understands more about salary distribution than the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. Roseman seems to have a better understanding on this subject than any of his peers.

Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts has the team’s top salary-cap hit at $21.9 million — a figure that ranks 50th going into the current season.

Running back Saquon Barkley is arguably the most important player on the team and his 2,005-yard rushing performance last season may indicate he was the best player in the NFL last season. Barkley has a salary cap hit of $6.6 million this season, a figure that ranks 315th in the league.

It is clearly not about which player is paid the most money. Prescott played eight games for a 7-10 team and tore his hamstring, yet he makes the most money. Hurts and Barkley combined have a cap hit that is little more than half of Prescott’s figure.

It’s all about salary distribution, and nobody knows that better than Roseman and the Eagles.