A million bucks doesn’t go that far these days.
But if you were running a NFL team back in 1990, you could’ve picked Troy Aikman’s services for a season. A little bit more and you could afford Randall Cunningham’s $1.275 million price tag. If you want to load up on value, you could acquire both Mark Rypien ($300,000) and Jim Harbaugh ($320,00) and still have enough for Billy Joe Tolliver ($250,000).
These days, a million bucks will barely fund half of a backup on most teams. That’s to be expected with the explosion of NFL revenue, but it’s still fun to see what 1990’s quarterbacks made compared to today’s salaries.
Here’s a team by team look at 1990 and 2020 quarterback salaries.
Sources: OverTheCap.com, Darren Rovell
Los Angeles Rams
Jared Goff: $36 million
Jim Everett: $2.4 million
Dallas Cowboys
Dak Prescott: $31.5 million
Troy Aikman: $1 million
Seattle Seahawks
Russell Wilson: $31 million
Dave Krieg: $1.4 million
San Francisco 49ers
Jimmy Garoppolo: $26.6 million
Joe Montana: $2.55 million
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tom Brady: $25 million
Vinny Testaverde: $1.36 million
Indianapolis Colts
Philip Rivers: $25 million
Jeff George: $900,000
Pittsburgh Steelers
Ben Roethlisberger: $23.7 million
Bubby Brister: $875,000
New Orleans Saints
Drew Brees: $23.65 million
John Fourcade: $400,000
Tennessee Titans
Ryan Tannehill: $22.5 million
Warren Moon: $1.5 million
Green Bay Packers
Aaron Rodgers: $21.6 million
Anthony Dilweg: $195,000
Las Vegas Raiders
Derek Carr: $21.5 million
Jay Schroeder: $1 million
Washington Redskins
Alex Smith: $21.4 million
Mark Rypien: $300,000
Detroit Lions
Matthew Stafford: $21.3 million
Rodney Peete: $115,000
Minnesota Vikings
Kirk Cousins: $21 million
Wade Wilson: $1 million
Atlanta Falcons
Matt Ryan: $18.9 million
Chris Miller: $550,000
Philadelphia Eagles
Carson Wentz:$18.6 million
Randall Cunningham: $1.275 million
Cincinnati Bengals
Andy Dalton: $17.7 million
Boomer Esiason: $1.2 million
Chicago Bears
Mitchell Trubisky: $9.2 million
Jim Harbaugh: $320,000
Cleveland Browns
Baker Mayfield: $9 million
Bernie Kosar: $1.5 million
New York Jets
Sam Darnold: $8.3 million
Ken O’Brien: $1.3 million
Arizona Cardinals
Kyler Murray: $8 million
Timm Rosenbach: $700,000
Miami Dolphins
Ryan Fitzpatrick: $8 million
Dan Marino: $1.5 million
New York Giants
Daniel Jones: $5.9 million
Phil Simms: $1.4 million
Buffalo Bills
Josh Allen: $5.8 million
Jim Kelly: $1.5 million
Kansas City Chiefs
Patrick Mahomes: $5.3 million
Steve DeBerg: $675,000
New England Patriots
Brian Hoyer: $1.05 million
Steve Grogan: $520,000
Los Angeles Chargers
Tyrod Taylor: $7.5 million
Billy Joe Tolliver: $250,000
Denver Broncos
Drew Lock: $1.593 million
John Elway: $1.45 million
