For the casual NFL supporter, the most famous words are "quarterback", "Tom Brady" and "Super Bowl". And although these three are practically synonymous and Brady is the best player in history, many will be surprised to know that he is not even among the ten players who will earn the most money next year. 

The one who is on that list is Jimmy Garoppolo. Substitute for Tom Brady for three and a half seasons, will win almost 28 million in 2018. Second highest paid player in the history of the NFL. 

Jimmy will charge seven million more than Brady, although he has only played five games as a starter with his new team, the San Francisco 49ers. 

How is it possible? The quarterbacks, always the best paid

The position that receives more money is, by far, that of quarterback. It is one of the four key positions in American football and for the vast majority it is the most important. Only the passers have exceeded 20 million annual salary and the first who wants to break that wage dominance is Odell Beckham Jr. 

A good and reliable quarterback is very coveted. Other positions, including basic defense, find more than 32 consistent players in the league. But there are not 32 good quarterbacks, not even reliable. 

So, the stars receive the highest salaries in the NFL if they wish, and even quarterbacks who are outside the top 10 receive more money than top 10 players in other important positions, such as linebacker.

From the CBA (Agreement after the negotiation of workers and company, NFL) of 2011, came the multimillion-dollar renovations. First was Aaron Rodgers, the most decisive quarterback in the league today; 

Three years later, Joe Flacco arrived, a contract that continues to give the Baltimore Ravens problems because it is already in obvious decline; and then the whirlwind came. Derek Carr, Matthew Stafford, Jimmy Garoppolo and Kirk Cousins. Each one breaks a new historical record.

Here is the list:

  1. Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings - $28,000,000
  2. Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco 49ers - $27,500,000
  3. Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions - $27,000,000
  4. Derek Carr, Oakland Raiders - $25,005,000
  5. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints - $25,000,000
  6. Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts - $24,594,000
  7. Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens - $22,133,333
  8. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers - $22,000,000
  9. Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks - $21,900,000
  10. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers - $21,850,000

In this list we find several of the elite quarterbacks, such as Stafford, Carr, Brees, Rodgers and Wilson. But they are not placed by merit. 

In fact, the ones who charge the most are the ones who have least achieved in the NFL if we compare them with the end of the top 10. And why? As simple as mentioned in the previous list.

The last quarterback with a certain cache to renew is the highest paid in history. Rodgers and Wilson will be the next and they will undoubtedly get into the top 3. Tom Brady does not like the agents. 

There is always something loose. 

Good old Brady already had enough millions and decided, in 2012, to restructure his contract with the Patriots to give the team more flexibility in the face of reinforcements. This is his decision. 

Just as one decides to seek the largest possible contract within the elite, Brady chose to save money. Decision that neither the agents nor the Players' Association liked, they always seek to improve the economic conditions of their clients. The power of the 'franchise tag'

It's very rare in the NFL to see a top-10 quarterback come on the market, even top 15. In most cases they renew and, if they do not want to renew, the NFL teams have the franchise tag. 

Well, in the last decade only a quarterback subject to franchise tag has not renewed. And that's Kirk Cousins, brand new Vikings signing and a step below the Brady, Rodgers and company. He played several seasons under the 'tag' and unlike the rest of quarterbacks did not renew. 

The influence of 'franchise tag' is huge. But when they go on the market, like Kirk, many teams are thrown for them and a few do it desperately. Cousins has managed to revolutionize the market by signing the first 100% guaranteed contract in the history of the NFL.

The same Derek Carr told him shortly after signing his contract extension with the Raiders, by then the biggest in history. He had left millions on the table: he could ask for more money from his team and he did not. 

The bargaining power of the quarterbacks is disproportionate and they hardly use part of the potential. If Aaron Rodgers wants, or even Cousins when he finishes his new contract, they can sign practically the conditions they want.

The shortage of reliable starting quarterbacks vindicates them as the most important, or at least the most exclusive, position in the NFL. 

The teams imagine a future in which they retain one of those stars and release the money that is needed, even if that future star only has five games, as in the case of Garoppolo, because it aims to be the new Brady. It is not a question of whims or of competing in salaries, as it can happen in certain sports in Europe. 

The salary limit adorns the football context in which the quarterback has the ball in the field and dictates sentence in the offices. Every plan revolves around them, be stars or complements in terms of performance. And the mega contract of Garoppolo will not be the last, nor the Cousins. 

Success or financial flexibility is not even guaranteed (whether you tell Colts or Ravens). In fact, Kirk himself will go on the market with the new CBA, in 2021, and we will see him sign again enormous amounts. The quarterbacks dominate inside and outside the green. The NFL is yours.