The five largest active contracts in the NFL belong to quarterbacks.
Patrick Mahomes’ 10-year, $450 million contract tops the list and is also the biggest contract in sports history so far.
Next to him is Josh Allen, who signed a six-year, $258 million extension this offseason.
Those big bucks highlight a quarterback’s importance to any team.
Having an All-Pro or a Pro Bowl quarterback gives them better winning odds.
Well-deserved 👏 Congrats @PatrickMahomes on being voted 1️⃣ on the #NFLTop100! pic.twitter.com/wGeH5gI5ZW
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) August 28, 2021
But aside from having that star play-caller, it’s equally important to have someone who can step in when something goes wrong.
The game itself is still vicious despite advancements in upholding player safety.
One Hit Can Change A Team’s Fortunes
The New England Patriots were lucky to have Tom Brady backing up Drew Bledsoe.
Perhaps the football gods knew that he would become the greatest player in NFL history by inspiring Bill Belichick to retain Brady as their fourth quarterback.
Bledsoe suffered from internal bleeding after a forceful tackle by New York Jets linebacker Mo Lewis.
Brady took over, and the rest is history.
There were other situations when a starting quarterback’s career ended with one impactful hit.
After Week 3 of the 1999 season, Steve Young retired when he suffered head trauma after a sack by Arizona Cardinals defensive back Aeneas Williams.
Of course, who can forget Lawrence Taylor’s hit on Joe Theismann that fractured the quarterback’s right leg and ended his career for good?
Teams can build a strong roster around a quarterback and retain it for years.
Yet, in reality, every starting quarterback is one violent tackle away from prematurely ending their NFL run.
The great teams have a backup quarterback that can take over without missing a beat when that happens.
The 1990 New York Giants rallied around Jeff Hostetler when Phil Simms got sidelined by a severe foot injury and won Super Bowl XXV.
The same scenario happened to the 1999 St. Louis (now Los Angeles) Rams when Kurt Warner took over Trent Green, who suffered a season-ending knee injury.
The Greatest Show on Turf marched to a Super Bowl XXXIV win.
A Little Competition Is Nice
Getting a capable backup quarterback can inspire the starter to take care of himself and perform well every game.
The fear of losing their job to somebody else keeps them focused on being the best they can be.
However, this situation can give birth to a quarterback controversy.
It would be a good problem, though, because a team can’t go wrong with whoever they hail as their top quarterback.
San Francisco 49ers head coach Bill Walsh lit a fire under Joe Montana by trading for Young before the 1987 season.
Throwback when Joe Montana and Steve Young were learning from Bill Walsh during their game. Legend pic.twitter.com/zrRxSyoYzx
— 49ers Throwback ❤💛 (@Fernyn2013) August 26, 2021
Ultimately, that surprising front office move inspired Montana to lead the Niners to consecutive titles in Super Bowls XXIII and XXIV.
As much as possible, Brady, Peyton Manning, and Brett Favre didn’t want their back-ups to take the field because they don’t want anybody else to do their job.
Therefore, a backup quarterback who can get it done motivates the starter to take his role seriously.
Otherwise, he will get the boot and lose his position for good.
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