Led by Patrick Mahomes' $35.793 cap hit in 2022, the Kansas City Chiefs will have one of the most expensive quarterback rooms next season.
While that's not surprising, the list of the other three teams at the top of the league probably would catch quite a few NFL fans off guard:
Mind you, this list is in terms of cap hits generated by the quarterbacks that each team has under contract. Aaron Rodgers, for example, will make $42 million in 2022. But his cap hit is "only" $28.533 million, which is why the Green Bay Packers don't appear in the top four.
Tannehill will collect a $29 million salary in 2022, but his cap hit is set to be $38.6 million. The former first-round pick has revived his career with the Tennessee Titans, and is certainly a top-half-of-the-league quarterback. But where he's at contractually also gives you an idea of why it would have been complicated for the Titans to try to upgrade at the position after a disappointing postseason exit.
Meanwhile, Garoppolo is currently slated to have a $26.95 million cap hit in 2022, which is among the reasons the San Francisco 49ers would probably prefer not to have him on their roster next season, assuming they are ready to pivot to Trey Lance. Once Garoppolo recovers from offseason shoulder surgery, a trade of his current contract or releasing him could create more than $25 million in salary cap space. That money may be used to sign Deebo Samuel to a long-term contract.
The Detroit Lions are stuck with Goff's $31.15 million cap hit in 2022. However, if they choose to go in another direction at the quarterback position in 2023, they could move on from Goff and only take on a $10 million dead cap charge.
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