NFL Fans in the Smallest Markets Are Buying the Most Merchandise
INDIANAPOLIS — At the NFL Scouting Combine, the league’s 32 franchises get a first look at the draft’s top prospects, as they consider which young superstars deserve tens of millions of dollars.
Hitting the jackpot on a passer is rare, and it can provide a huge advantage for several years thanks to the team-friendly rookie wage scale that caps players’ first contracts.
But as coaches, front office executives, scouts, and media gathered at the Indiana Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium this week, the attention was on veteran signal-callers.
Shedeur Sanders, Cam Ward, and others will hear their names called from the draft stage in Green Bay in April, but the buzz centered on an impending—and pricey—quarterback carousel that is set to start spinning as the new league year and free agency begin March 12.
Here’s a look at the most important names reshaping the league.
Matthew Stafford
This offseason, the most interesting—and likely most expensive—quarterback available was Matthew Stafford, who agreed to a restructured contract with the Rams on Friday, after several days of rumors swirling about his future.
Stafford had received permission to speak with other teams about a trade and new deal, as the Super Bowl LVI winner had been set to earn just $27 million in total cash in 2025, which is 16th in the NFL among quarterbacks. The 37-year-old wanted a raise—and it looks like he’ll get one in the $40 million range.
Plenty of teams could have significantly improved their rosters by adding Stafford. Rumors were centering on the Giants (who currently have no quarterbacks under contract) and the Raiders, the latter of whom led to one of the biggest stories of the combine, which took place outside of Lucas Oil Stadium: the NFL insider confrontation.
Fox Sports reporter Jordan Schultz confronted NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport at Starbucks in the JW Marriott lobby on Wednesday after Rapoport refuted some of Schultz’s report that Las Vegas minority owner Tom Brady recently hosted Stafford at his Montana home.
The aftermath of the incident is still playing out, as NFL security was looking into the Starbucks matter. Still, the wild scene highlighted the power and influence of secretive NFL information—especially around the league’s premier position.
Aaron Rodgers
Another veteran Super Bowl winner is actually guaranteed to be hitting the quarterback carousel: Aaron Rodgers, who is looking for a new team after the Jets decided not to bring him back for a third season, which was somewhat controversial in New York’s locker room.
“This is not going to be the last decision I make that’s going to upset some people,” new Jets head coach Aaron Glenn said this week, after several of the team’s players voiced their frustration with the move, which wasn’t cheap, either. The Jets will incur a $49 million dead cap hit that can be spread out across the next two seasons.
Rodgers appears to have less of a market than Stafford did, although one rumor had the 41-year-old taking Stafford’s job in Los Angeles if the Rams did move on. Now, the Giants are said to be interested in Rodgers.
Sam Darnold
While those two ring-chasing (and perhaps paycheck-chasing) veterans stole most of the headlines, two younger quarterbacks are set to command as much, if not more, money with new contracts.
Sam Darnold’s stellar play in 2024 that helped the Vikings (his fourth team in seven seasons) to a 14–3 record has earned him the right to be a free agent, Minnesota head coach Kevin O’Connell previously said.
Darnold played on a one-year, $10 million deal, and the Vikings appear unlikely to place the franchise tag on him, which would lock him into another one-year deal—this time worth more than $40 million.
O’Connell said at the combine that the Vikings were “evaluating the short-term and long-term aspects” of their quarterback situation. Second-year man J.J. McCarthy will have a salary-cap hit of just under $5 million next season, while Darnold will be seeking a multiyear commitment, likely north of $100 million.
Brock Purdy
While Darnold will get a nice pay bump wherever he lands, Brock Purdy is in line for an even bigger raise with the 49ers, as San Francisco GM John Lynch confirmed extension talks had begun.
Purdy, the last pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, has earned just $2.88 million during his first three seasons in the league, despite leading the 49ers to two NFC championship games and one Super Bowl.
In 2025, he’s set to make $5.26 million thanks to proven performance escalators. But the 49ers could instead make Purdy one of the richest players in the NFL. (Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is the league’s highest-paid player, with an average annual salary of $60 million.)
“We want Brock to be our quarterback as long as we’re here and beyond, and we’ll leave it at that,” Lynch said this week.
From Purdy and Darnold to Rodgers and Stafford, there’s no doubt it pays to be a starting quarterback in the NFL. Top quarterback prospects Sanders and Ward certainly know that, even if the combine week was more about those already raking in millions in the league.
