BREAKING NEWS: Sam Darnold’s Earnings Fall Short of Gardner Minshew and 21 NFL Quarterbacks Despite a Flawless Start, Raising Questions About Market Value .giang

Sam Darnold’s renaissance with the Minnesota Vikings has been something that no one saw coming, with the former third-overall pick in the 2018 draft finally looking like he’s blossomed into the player that many expected him to be.

Through five games, Darnold has thrown 11 touchdowns while completing 64% of his passes to start the season, after stepping in for first-round draft pick JJ McCarthy who suffered a season-ending injury while leading the team to a perfect 5-0 start, going into their bye week.

Darnold was signed by the Vikings on a one-year, $10 million deal, looking set to battle with McCarthy for the starting spot – with both reportedly impressing throughout training camp. But McCarthy’s injury meant that Darnold would be thrust into starting, grabbing that opportunity with two hands and looking like an absolute bargain for Minnesota.

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While the Vikings will be ecstatic to see Darnold playing this way, they might be kicking themselves that they did not sign the quarterback to a longer-term contract – with his value to skyrocket next offseason should he keep up this level of play and likely to be a starter on another team.

Darnold was one of several quarterback’s to hit the open market this past offseason for teams to consider signing, as well as Kirk Cousins, Baker Mayfield, Russell Wilson and Gardner Minshew. While Mayfield and Wilson were snapped up quickly, both Darnold and Minshew were seen as veteran, stop-gap options who could provide serviceable quarterback play, but were not long-term options.

The Las Vegas Raiders, who eventually signed Minshew, would have weighed up their options in terms of signing Darnold – appearing to have chosen the wrong guy after having benched him for Aidan O’Connell this past week. Minshew has thrown just four touchdowns to five interceptions in the Raiders first five games, with the team at the bottom of their division with a 2-3 record.

The NFL starting quarterback salaries shows that Darnold is the lowest-paid quarterback not on a rookie-scale contract (besides Russell Wilson who signed on a minimum deal while receiving $37 million from his former team after being cut).

2024 starting NFL QB salaries (Average Per Year)

1) Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys: $60 million

2) Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals: $55 million

2) Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars: $55 million

2) Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers: $55 million

5) Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins: $53.1 million

6) Jared Goff, Detroit Lions: $53 million

7) Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers: $52.5 million

8) Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens: $52 million

9) Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles: $51 million

10) Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals: $46.1 million

11) Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns: $46 million

12) Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs: $45 million

12) Kirk Cousins, Atlanta Falcons: $45 million

14) Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills: $43 million

15) Daniel Jones, New York Giants: $40 million

15) Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams: $40 million

17) Derek Carr, New Orleans Saints: $37.5 million

17) Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets: $37.5 million

19) Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: $33.3 million

20) Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks: $25 million

21)Gardner Minshew, Las Vegas Raiders: $12.5 million

22)Sam Darnold, Minnesota Vikings: $10 million

23) Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears: $9.9 million

24) Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers: $9.8 million

25) Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders: $9.4 million

26) Drake Maye, New England Patriots: $9.2 million

27) C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans: $9.1 million

28) Bo Nix, Denver Broncos: $8.8 million

29) Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts: $8.5 million

30) Will Levis, Tennessee Titans: $2.3 million

31) Russell Wilson, Pittsburgh Steelers: $1.2 million

32) Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers: $934,000