- May 21, 2026
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Last year, quarterback Jacoby Brissett signed a two-year, $12.5 million deal to serve as the backup to Kyler Murray. Brissett ended up starting 12 games.
This year, after a couple of months of uncertainty as to the projected top spot on the Arizona depth chart, it eventually became clear that Brissett will be the starter.
And that's the root of Brissett's effort to get a contract adjustment.
On Tuesday's PFT Live, Devin McCourty (who played with Brissett in New England and still communicates with him) confirmed that, from Brissett's perspective, it's that simple. He arrived as a backup. He accepted a contract to be a backup. Now that the Cardinals have eased him — almost by default — into the starting role, he would like his deal to be adjusted.
It's a fair point. And that doesn't mean he wants to be paid at the high end of the scale. As veteran starters go, $20 million is the baseline.
And that's a far cry from his current average of $6.25 million per year.
The question is whether the Cardinals will do anything about Brissett's deal. They don't have to. And holdouts have become very expensive for players, thanks to the daily fines for skipping training camp.
A hold-in is possible. But no one would benefit from that, especially since there's a new coaching staff and a new offense in Arizona.
That could open the door for Gardner Minshew or Carson Beck to take the job. Which presumably would be fine with Brissett. He signed to be the backup. If he's going to be the backup, his contract is fine. If he's going to be the starter, he deserves a new deal.
This year, after a couple of months of uncertainty as to the projected top spot on the Arizona depth chart, it eventually became clear that Brissett will be the starter.
And that's the root of Brissett's effort to get a contract adjustment.
On Tuesday's PFT Live, Devin McCourty (who played with Brissett in New England and still communicates with him) confirmed that, from Brissett's perspective, it's that simple. He arrived as a backup. He accepted a contract to be a backup. Now that the Cardinals have eased him — almost by default — into the starting role, he would like his deal to be adjusted.
It's a fair point. And that doesn't mean he wants to be paid at the high end of the scale. As veteran starters go, $20 million is the baseline.
And that's a far cry from his current average of $6.25 million per year.
The question is whether the Cardinals will do anything about Brissett's deal. They don't have to. And holdouts have become very expensive for players, thanks to the daily fines for skipping training camp.
A hold-in is possible. But no one would benefit from that, especially since there's a new coaching staff and a new offense in Arizona.
That could open the door for Gardner Minshew or Carson Beck to take the job. Which presumably would be fine with Brissett. He signed to be the backup. If he's going to be the backup, his contract is fine. If he's going to be the starter, he deserves a new deal.