Mickey the Mouth
The Syndicate News Wire
- May 21, 2026
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The Arizona Cardinals and quarterback Jacoby Brissett are currently in a contract stalemate. Entering the final year of his two-year contract, he is due to make almost $4.9 million in salary and another $510,000 potentially in per-game roster bonuses. Only $1.5 million of his salary is guaranteed.
He signed the two-year deal last offseason expected to be Kyler Murray's backup.
Now the incumbent starter for the Cardinals following the release of Murray, Brissett wants more money. He wants to be paid like a starter if he is going to be a starter.
And it makes sense. By NFL starter standards, he is woefully underpaid.
By how much?
Eliminating quarterbacks on their rookie contracts, as those are cost-controlled, Brissett's $4.9 million salary is a small fraction of other starting quarterbacks' salaries in 2026.
If we go by per-year averages, the lowest-paid non-rookie clear starter is Aaron Rodgers. He just signed a deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers worth $22 million in base salary. The exact numbers will be known soon. Above him is Malik Willis, who signed with the Miami Dolphins this offseason. His per-year average is 22.5 million.
If we go by cash paid or to be paid in 2026, again excluding expected starters on rookie deals, Rodgers is also the bottom of the list between $22 million and $25 million. Above him is Daniel Jones, who gets $50 million cash this year.
Brissett is set to make up to $5.4 million as an expected veteran starter.
He must be seeking at least $20 million for this year.
Statistically, Brissett's numbers stand up. He passed for 3,366 yards and 23 touchdown passes were career-highs. From Week 6 and on, when he took over as the starter for Arizona, he was first in the league in completions and passing attempts. He was second in passing yards.
Now, he went 1-11 and lost the final nine games, and if you take out his numbers while the Cardinals were down by at least 17 points, he had 2,428 passing yards, 14 touchdown passes and six interceptions. In 11 games as a starter in 2022 with the Cleveland Browns (4-7 record), he had 2,608 passing yards, 12 touchdown passes and six picks.
Those numbers got him a one-year $8 million contract with Washington in 2023 where he lost the starting competition to Sam Howell.
It is certain that, as an expected starter, Brissett should be paid much, much more. The question is whether he has leverage to command a raise. He is 20-45 in his career as a starter and 2-15 over the last two season. They signed Gardner Minshew in the offseason, who has 47 career starts and drafted Carson Beck in the third round.
Expected to be a bad team in 2026, are the Cardinals going to be any worse with either Minshew or Beck starting in Brissett's place? Probably not.
That's the situation. He might deserve more money as a starter, but the Cardinals don't really have a reason to pay him more.
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: Jacoby Brissett contract: How much should he be paid as starting QB?
Continue reading...
He signed the two-year deal last offseason expected to be Kyler Murray's backup.
Now the incumbent starter for the Cardinals following the release of Murray, Brissett wants more money. He wants to be paid like a starter if he is going to be a starter.
And it makes sense. By NFL starter standards, he is woefully underpaid.
By how much?
Eliminating quarterbacks on their rookie contracts, as those are cost-controlled, Brissett's $4.9 million salary is a small fraction of other starting quarterbacks' salaries in 2026.
If we go by per-year averages, the lowest-paid non-rookie clear starter is Aaron Rodgers. He just signed a deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers worth $22 million in base salary. The exact numbers will be known soon. Above him is Malik Willis, who signed with the Miami Dolphins this offseason. His per-year average is 22.5 million.
If we go by cash paid or to be paid in 2026, again excluding expected starters on rookie deals, Rodgers is also the bottom of the list between $22 million and $25 million. Above him is Daniel Jones, who gets $50 million cash this year.
Brissett is set to make up to $5.4 million as an expected veteran starter.
He must be seeking at least $20 million for this year.
Statistically, Brissett's numbers stand up. He passed for 3,366 yards and 23 touchdown passes were career-highs. From Week 6 and on, when he took over as the starter for Arizona, he was first in the league in completions and passing attempts. He was second in passing yards.
Now, he went 1-11 and lost the final nine games, and if you take out his numbers while the Cardinals were down by at least 17 points, he had 2,428 passing yards, 14 touchdown passes and six interceptions. In 11 games as a starter in 2022 with the Cleveland Browns (4-7 record), he had 2,608 passing yards, 12 touchdown passes and six picks.
Those numbers got him a one-year $8 million contract with Washington in 2023 where he lost the starting competition to Sam Howell.
It is certain that, as an expected starter, Brissett should be paid much, much more. The question is whether he has leverage to command a raise. He is 20-45 in his career as a starter and 2-15 over the last two season. They signed Gardner Minshew in the offseason, who has 47 career starts and drafted Carson Beck in the third round.
Expected to be a bad team in 2026, are the Cardinals going to be any worse with either Minshew or Beck starting in Brissett's place? Probably not.
That's the situation. He might deserve more money as a starter, but the Cardinals don't really have a reason to pay him more.
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: Jacoby Brissett contract: How much should he be paid as starting QB?
Continue reading...