By: Ryan Magill, 2026
At the end of the 2023-2024 NFL Season, the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII, in a rematch of the 2019 Super Bowl LIV. While every Super Bowl draws increased media focus, one of the more interesting and compelling stories from this matchup was each team’s approach to roster building in pursuit of their Super Bowl aspirations. Specifically, both the Chiefs and 49ers demonstrated how teams could be built to succeed with or without an elite, highly compensated player in the quarterback spot.
The Kansas City Chiefs: When You’ve Got “The Man”
In July 2020, the Kansas City Chiefs signed quarterback Patrick Mahomes to the largest contract in NFL history, at 10 years and $450 million after his MVP regular season award in 2018, leading the Chiefs to a Super Bowl LIV victory as the game’s MVP in February 2020.[1] The contract included the then-most guaranteed money in an NFL contract at $141 million guaranteed.[2] In 2023, Mahomes and the Chiefs restructured the agreement to guarantee over $200 million.[3]
For the 2023-24 season, occupied 23.38% of the Chiefs’ total cap space ($57 million), about 12% more than the next-highest player on his team.[4] However, Mahomes’ influence on the team’s finances has cost him. Notably, premier wide receiver Tyreek Hill sought a trade from the Chiefs in 2022, pursuing a team willing and able to pay him what he felt he deserved.[5] While Mahomes and the Chiefs won it all in 2022 and 2023 without Hill, much of the Chiefs’ regular season struggles in 2023-2024 stemmed from high-profile instances of poor receiver play.
In the end, however, Mahomes continues to justify his contract. The Chiefs have won 74 of 96 games Mahomes has played during the regular season, and the Chiefs have never missed the postseason, winning 15 of 18 postseason games with Mahomes as the leader.[6] Since agreeing to the deal, the Chiefs have never missed the AFC Championship game and have gone to three more Super Bowls. After winning his second NFL MVP in 2022, Mahomes has brought Kansas City back-to-back Super Bowls, earning the MVP award in both championship wins. With a Chiefs team this year that many considered to be his weakest ever, Mahomes finished Super Bowl LVIII with 399 of the Chiefs' 455 yards (333 passing, 66 rushing) while throwing two touchdowns (including the OT game-winner) and just one interception.[7] With plenty of seasons remaining on his contract, this Super Bowl is just the latest chapter in Mahomes’ unprecedented story.
The San Francisco 49ers: When You’ve Got Purdy Good Value
While the 2019 Chiefs had a rookie-contract superstar in Mahomes, the 2019 49ers faced a crossroads. QB Jimmy Garoppolo, whom the Niners had acquired in 2017 from the New England Patriots, was given the then-largest NFL contract ever at 5-years $137.5 million in 2018.[8] However, Garoppolo did not perform especially well in the 2020 Super Bowl between the Chiefs and 49ers, and he struggled with injuries and poor performance after that.[9] In 2021, after going 6-10 with Garoppolo injured all season, the Niners made the bold decision to trade three first-round picks to the Miami Dolphins to select QB Trey Lance to be Garoppolo’s eventual replacement.[10] The following year, with the very last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, the 49ers made QB Brock Purdy the annual “Mr. Irrelevant.”[11]
As the final pick of the draft, Purdy signed a 4-year, $3.7 million contract with only $77,008 guaranteed.[12] Nevertheless, Purdy entered the 2022 NFL season as the 49ers third-string QB behind the newly christened starter Trey Lance and back-up Garoppolo.[13] After Lance’s season-ending injury in Week 2 and Garoppolo’s injury in Week 13, Purdy ripped off five straight wins to enter the 2022-2023 playoffs on a 10-game winning streak finishing the season 13-4.[14] Purdy remained the starter through the playoffs, winning his first two playoff starts before going down with a UCL tear in the 2023 NFC Championship loss against the Philadelphia Eagles.[15] In the 2023 offseason, Garoppolo left the 49ers in free agency, the Niners traded Lance to the Cowboys, and Purdy entered the 2023-2024 season entrenched as the 49ers starter.[16] [17] [18]
In 2023-2024, Purdy earned just over $1 million.[19] Of the 49ers’ $273 million cap space spent for the year, their starting QB takes up just 0.36% of the entire value.[20] Meanwhile, the team is able to pay elite all-pro level talents like Christian McCaffrey ($14 million cap hit), Trent Williams ($31 million), Nick Bosa ($14 million), George Kittle ($21 million), Fred Warner ($24 million), Deebo Samuel ($28 million), Brandon Aiyuk ($14 million), and more while their QB still has two more low-cost years remaining.[21] A year after missing out on the big game due to injury, Brock Purdy rallied the Niners in a comeback win over the Detroit Lions in the NFC Championship game to set the stage for their revenge Super Bowl matchup with the Chiefs.[22]
However, the 49ers found themselves on the wrong side of the comeback story in Super Bowl LVIII, as the team squandered a 10-point second quarter lead and lost to the Chiefs in only the second Super Bowl to go to overtime.[23] As for Purdy, his 255 passing yards and one touchdown throw to Jauan Jennings has analysts scattered in their opinions, ranging from positive endorsements to outright blame for the loss. [24] [25] [26]
Why Does It Matter?: The League’s Obsession with QBs
Success in the NFL is hard to come by. Just ask the Chiefs, whose 2019 Super Bowl win was the franchise’s first in 50 years.[27] Or ask the twelve franchises who have never won a Super Bowl. Or ask the four teams (including the Lions) who have yet to make a Super Bowl.[28] The widespread logic around the NFL is that to win, your team needs an elite QB to go the distance. For example, of the 21 QBs to ever play in multiple Super Bowls, only eight are not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame (and five of them are not yet eligible, including Mahomes).[29]
This perceived need for a quarterback is reflected in the skyrocketing value of quarterbacks compared to other positions on NFL rosters. Currently, the league average salary for QBs is $11.8 million, second only to the left tackle position at $12.7 million.[30] However, since left tackles often protect the quarterback’s “blind side,” their value is inextricably tied to the QB position.
Comparing QB salary cap hits to other offensive positions for 2023-2024:[31]
The top defensive player by cap hit makes less than the top seven quarterbacks.[32]
The top left tackle (by extension, the top offensive linemen) by cap hit also makes less than the top seven quarterbacks.[33]
The top wide receiver by cap hit makes less than the top nine quarterbacks.[34]
The top running back by cap hit makes less than the top 17 quarterbacks.[35]
For a team like the Chiefs, with a two-time NFL MVP and three-time Super Bowl MVP, their investment in Mahomes is completely justified after winning three Super Bowls. Meanwhile teams like the Cardinals, Giants, Saints and Raiders paid their quarterbacks between $27 million and $51 million in 2023 to miss the playoffs, while a quarterback costing the 49ers just over $1 million this season (ranking as the 57th highest QB cap hit in 2023-2024) took the Bay Area fans to the Super Bowl.[36]
Teams are always looking for “the guy” at quarterback. That is how players like Daniel Jones, Derek Carr, and Jimmy Garoppolo end up with $20 to $40 million yearly salaries.[37] This is the prevailing reason Tua Tagovailoa, who had a more talented offense than Brock Purdy did with less success to show for it, will command a $50 million/year salary for his next contract.[38] The alternative has been investing premium assets into finding a quarterback. Since 2011, 38 quarterbacks have been taken in the first round of the NFL Draft since 2011, and Patrick Mahomes is the only one to win a Super Bowl on the team that drafted them.[39]
The Tale of Two Approaches: Does It Work?
So why focus on Mahomes and Purdy? As the leaders of the two Super Bowl teams, they are indicative of arguably the two-best methods of approaching successful team building from the quarterback position:
The Elite QB: Have an elite talent who can produce with any players in practically any system, thereby justifying any amount of financial commitment you make to that player.
The Game Manager: Have an elite system with elite and well-compensated players so that a quarterback can “manage” the team on a minimal salary cap hit.
The Elite QB vs. Game Manager debate is not new in the NFL. In fact, a player can prove to be both types of QB during his career, like Tom Brady. Early Tom Brady, the sixth-round pick from Michigan who came in as a backup and led the Patriots to their early 2000s trio of Super Bowls, was a low-paid Game Manager who led defensive-heavy teams to victory.[40] But after several seasons in the NFL, Tom Brady became the elite playmaker he is known as today, who could win by throwing the ball to former college quarterbacks and former college lacrosse players and win Super Bowls. However, Brady famously took less money than his total market value to help his team sign better players to win more games and championships.[41] Regardless, Brady was always well compensated.
The message seems to be clear that NFL teams, when considering a QB, should either find “the guy” or surround “a guy” with elite talent to be successful. Overpaying mediocrity, it turns out, is not the formula for success.
References:
[2] Id.
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[4] “Kansas City Chiefs 2024 Salary Cap Table.” Spotrac.com, https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/kansas-city-chiefs/cap/. Accessed 15 February 2024.
[5] Keefer, Zak. “'It took some time': Dolphins' Tyreek Hill on his Chiefs breakup, facing K.C. in Germany.” The Athletic, 3 November 2023, https://theathletic.com/5025155/2023/11/03/tyreek-hill-dolphins-chiefs-frankfurt/. Accessed 15 February 2024.
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[15] Wagoner, Nick. “Source: 49ers QB Brock Purdy has torn UCL in right elbow.” ABC7 News, 30 January 2023, https://abc7news.com/sports/source-49ers-qb-brock-purdy-has-torn-ucl-in-right-elbow/12751742/. Accessed 15 February 2024.
[16] Sam, Doric. “49ers Insider: Brock Purdy 'Clear Favorite' to Be QB1 over Trey Lance, Sam Darnold.” Bleacher Report, 5 June 2023, https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10078291-49ers-insider-brock-purdy-clear-favorite-to-be-qb1-over-trey-lance-sam-darnold. Accessed 15 February 2024.
[17] Reed, Tashan, et al. “Raiders, QB Jimmy Garoppolo agree to 3-year deal.” The Athletic, 13 March 2023, https://theathletic.com/4288959/2023/03/13/jimmy-garoppolo-raiders-contract-nfl-free-agency/. Accessed 15 February 2024.
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