Sam Darnold enters the Seattle Seahawks’ 2026 season as a reigning Super Bowl champion, a two-time Pro Bowler and the owner of one of the NFL’s more unusual quarterback contracts.
Fifteen quarterbacks now have contracts with a higher average annual value than Darnold’s $33.5 million, once Baker Mayfield’s newly reported $55 million-per-year extension is included.
That’s the striking position Seattle finds itself in after signing Darnold to a three-year, $100.5 million contract in March 2025. NFL Network reported at the time that the deal included $55 million guaranteed.
Darnold responded by helping the Seahawks win Super Bowl LX in his first season in Seattle.
And Mayfield’s latest payday only makes the economics of Darnold’s contract stand out more.
Sam Darnold’s Contract Ranks Near the Middle of NFL Starting QBs
Over The Cap lists Darnold’s current contract at $100.5 million in total value and $33.5 million per year, with $37.5 million fully guaranteed.
Before Mayfield’s new agreement is incorporated into its rankings, Over The Cap lists Darnold 15th among quarterbacks in average annual contract value.
But that table still shows Mayfield’s previous Tampa Bay Buccaneers contract at $33.33 million per season, just below Darnold.
That changed this week.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo and ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Mayfield agreed to a three-year, $165 million extension with Tampa Bay, an average of $55 million per year in new money. The Buccaneers subsequently announced that Mayfield is under contract through the 2029 season.
Counting Mayfield’s new $55 million figure, the quarterbacks with higher average annual values than Darnold are:
- Patrick Mahomes — $64 million
- Dak Prescott — $60 million
- Joe Burrow — $55 million
- Josh Allen — $55 million
- Jordan Love — $55 million
- Trevor Lawrence — $55 million
- Matthew Stafford — $55 million
- Baker Mayfield — $55 million
- Jared Goff — $53 million
- Brock Purdy — $53 million
- Justin Herbert — $52.5 million
- Lamar Jackson — $52 million
- Jalen Hurts — $51 million
- Deshaun Watson — $46 million
- Daniel Jones — $44 million
Those figures measure average annual contract value, not a quarterback’s 2026 cap hit or actual cash received this season. Over The Cap’s current contract database supplies the other 14 figures; Mayfield’s extension was reported after that table’s latest displayed contract for him.
The gap is substantial.
Mayfield’s new annual average is $21.5 million higher than Darnold’s.
Darnold Has Given Seahawks Considerably More Than They Initially Paid For
When Seattle signed Darnold, it was paying for a quarterback coming off the breakout season of his career with the Minnesota Vikings.
Darnold had thrown for 4,319 yards, 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 2024 while helping Minnesota finish 14-3. Seattle then handed him the starting job after trading Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Seahawks’ bet worked.
Darnold completed a career-best 67.7% of his passes for 4,048 yards, 25 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in 2025. Seattle won a franchise-record 14 regular-season games, secured the NFC’s No. 1 seed and went on to win Super Bowl LX. He was also selected to the Pro Bowl for the second consecutive season.
The Seahawks note that Darnold’s 28 regular-season victories between 2024 and 2025 tied Tom Brady for the most wins by a quarterback over consecutive seasons in NFL history.
That résumé makes his place below quarterbacks such as Daniel Jones and Deshaun Watson in average annual contract value especially eye-catching.
It doesn’t necessarily mean those teams currently value their quarterbacks more than Seattle values Darnold. NFL contracts are negotiated at different points in time, under different circumstances, and their headline averages don’t always reflect their practical value to the team.
But it does illustrate the advantage Seattle currently holds.
Baker Mayfield Deal Shows What Could Eventually Await Darnold
Mayfield is particularly relevant because his own career arc and previous contract had some obvious parallels with Darnold.
After rebuilding his career in Tampa Bay, Mayfield signed a three-year, $100 million agreement in 2024. Its $33.33 million average was almost identical to the $33.5 million Seattle later committed to Darnold.
Mayfield has now gone from that tier to a reported $55 million annually.
Darnold is still under contract through the 2027 season, so Seattle doesn’t have to make the same type of decision immediately. Over The Cap lists a $37.9 million cap charge for Darnold in 2026 and a $44.9 million charge in 2027.
But another strong season would make his eventual price one of the more fascinating questions facing the Seahawks.
Darnold signed his current deal before playing a snap for Seattle. Since then, he has led the franchise to 14 regular-season wins, another Pro Bowl and a Super Bowl championship.
For now, Seattle gets to enjoy the other side of that equation.
Fifteen NFL quarterbacks have higher average annual contract values than Sam Darnold.
None of them started at quarterback for the Super Bowl LX champions.
15 NFL Quarterbacks Now Make More Than Sam Darnold