Pro Football Quarterback Earnings as it relates to Alternative Football Leagues
By Pat Rifino
This off-season only one quarterback has officially retired in the NFL. Ben Roethlisberger retired as a Top-Ten QB who led the Steelers to two super bowl victories during his career. But the main point of this article isn’t to highlight the career of Big Ben. It’s to point out the lack of movement and opportunity of the QB position, and that maybe the league is headed towards a deadlock at the position.
Per Spotrac, 111 QBs were at one point employed by an NFL team during the 2021 Regular Season. This does not include QBs who were not on NFL rosters during training camp who received roster bonuses, per diem and other monetary compensation. With the USFL expected to kick off on the 16th of April, 16 more men will be paid to play quarterback at a professional level. The below chart is a list of all QBs who had a “cup of tea” in the NFL during the 2021 season and their earnings.
The inspiration of this article comes from two recent events in the professional football landscape occurring. First, the recent unretirement of Tom Brady and how him playing for the Buccaneers shifts the outlook for the NFL 2022 season. Second, the fact that as I write this article it seems that only one team in the NFL doesn’t have a day one starter (Seahawks) meaning that the QB market for 2022 is honestly filled up and it doesn’t have much movement.
Tom Brady staying in the NFL means a lot of things for the league. It means that yes, the Buccaneers are favorites to win another Super Bowl but it also takes away several opportunities for NFL players and prospects. In 2021 the Bucs had four QBs on their roster/ practice squad. Tom Brady, Blaine Gabbert, Kyle Trask, and Ryan Griffin. For a coach like Bruce Arians who has “his guys” I can expect that the QB room will look extremely similar for his 2022 season which means no room for fresh blood in the NFL. No new starter, no new back-up and most likely no new late round pick or UDFA joining the Bucs on the PS with hope of gaining a chance to make a living in the NFL.
Now I am in no way discrediting the skills of Tom Brady as one, he is the GOAT and two, light years better than any QB in NFC outside of Aaron Rodgers and the fact he hasn’t had bad season yet to me means he is more than capable at the age of 44 (45 in Week 1), than most in this league. However,what I am saying is that the Bucs are one of many teams in the NFL that seem to have a solidified QB room with limited movement of personnel.
This leads into my second reason for writing this article: how many spots are left for QBs in the NFL? Only five teams have two QBs on their roster going into the NFL Draft and the remainder of free agency. One thing that peaks my interest is the fact that the market still yields capable and competent backups on the market. Ryan Fitzpatrick, Blaine Gabbert, Geno Smith, Cam Newton, and Andy Dalton are all serviceable back ups who could easily provide adequate depth at position and veteran mentorship.
***Update Andy Dalton was signed by the New Orleans Saints on 30March22***
This “overload” of serviceable QBs has in a way put the NFL in a conundrum. It may seem that the 2022 season has many teams in a “comfortable” position under center, or at least content enough to see if they can win with “their guy”. For example during most off-seasons, a QB like Baker Mayfield would be a hot commodity, but right now it seems that the former Number One overall pick will be released since the Seahawks are the only viable option for him. Even Jimmy Garoppolo seems to be “stuck” with the 49ers, as the options for him to go to another team are few and far between.
The NFL is definitely on the younger side of things regarding the QB position. In 2021 only four QBs over the age of 35 played sixteen or more games. One of those QBs retired (Ben Roethlisberger) and the other three are Matt Ryan (Colts), Tom Brady (Bucs), and Aaron Rodgers (Packers). Twenty-one teams had QBs under 30 start the majority of their games while the remaining 7 fell between the ages of 31-34. This bottleneck of youth is a great thing but it can lead to QB stagnation
QB stagnation seemingly, reared its ugly head a couple times in 2022. Giants fans had to witness Mike Glennon post a 4:10 TD to Int ratio in 6 starts, while Vikings fans had their playoff hopes die with Sean Mannion in week 17. Due limited opportunities QBs like Mannion, and Glennon often can stay in the league for years as Glennon and Mannion have both played in the NFL for at least seven years. Glennon has earned 31.9 Million and Mannion 6.2 Million dollars throughout their careers and Mannion will earn even more after being re-signed by the Vikings again. Even though Glennon and Mannion are appearing to be on the outs of pro football, A couple QBs may have escaped “QB Stagnation” and have become viable pro’s again.
QB’s like Mike White, Cooper Rush, Trevor Siemien, Josh Johnson and Garrett Gilbert seem to have escaped QB stagnation for the moment due to strong performances in spot starts. QB’s like this were bouncing between practice squad anonymity and now going into 2022 seem to be in position to have solidified jobs. What’s even more important is that two of these QB’s are former spring league alumni.
Gilbert and Johnson have bounced around the NFL for years. Johnson being a 5th rd draft pick 08’ and Gilbert was a 6th rd draft pick in 14’ have both played for over nine pro teams in their careers. Both entered QB stagnation, and both needed an opportunity in the spring leagues to push them into QB relevancy which they have translated into additional years in their career. Unfortunately for QBs in 2021 there was no spring league to help them earn additional opportunities.
Going into 2022 there are four major leagues in which a college athlete can gain employment as a quarterback in North America. The NFL, CFL, USFL, and FCF all are opportunities to play football at a high level. Even with all those teams and leagues the rough number of roster spots is only 152 opportunities. To put that in perspective there are 129 FBS teams in college. The opportunity for employment at a professional level is few and far between.
On April 16th the USFL kicks off and so far seventeen QBs have at one point signed a contract with the league (Ben Holmes was released in camp). Out of the Seventeen, Eleven have earned paycheck from an NFL team. Out of those Eleven, Six have been on an active NFL roster. Of those Six, Two have played in an NFL game and only One of those Two have thrown a touchdown in an NFL regular season game.
The lack of experience is terrifying in the USFL however, the potential is extremely exciting. The potential of a new batch of talent and a chance to see these young QBs play at a professional level and possibly get another chance at the NFL. The USFL allows for NFL GM’s and staff to look at these players at a “high level” and gain valuable game film. Even more importantly it is going to allow for players to transition into the league who deserve to be on an NFL roster.
In the NFL QB3’s and QB4’s receive a limited amount of opportunity to showcase their skills and oftentimes a bad rep in practice/preseason can lead to a player getting released. With the USFL these QBs can find themselves in a position ready to take meaningful snaps at a moment's notice.
As a Giants fan it killed me to watch Mike Glennon continue to receive meaningless snaps in an attempt for him to extend a career that should have ended in 2020 with Jacksonville. It was a relief to see Jake Fromm take the field and even though he didn’t “light it up” he was given an opportunity to play and proved that he is not ready/may not be ready for the NFL. With the USFL a player like Fromm could have received game reps at game speed and it would have been answered months before if Fromm could be a professional QB.
Metlife legend Mike White was also in a similar situation until his opportunity. He however, beat the Bengals and threw for over 400 yds in his first start, most likely extending his career. One thing is clear, alternative football is needed so players can stay sharp (especially QBs) before they are called to the big stage. Hopefully, with the addition of USFL QBs I’d like to believe that GM’s will put the pressure on their existing roster in an attempt to garner more skilled players.
As with every league, the USFL will most likely lead to an opportunity for many of the new batch of spring QBs. Hopefully with this new league, players will seize the opportunity to play at a high level to garner game film. With the NFL most likely looking pretty similar for the next couple years, the USFL or XFL may be the only opportunity for fans to see fresh faces under center and allow these players a different avenue for them to make a living and most importantly support their families.
