Comparing Nick Foles contract to other veteran QBs

Now that we know how much the Nick Foles contract is, how does he compare to other NFL quarterbacks?

When the Nick Foles contract was announced, many Chicago Bears let out a sign of relief. What was assumed to be a new $16 million cap hit in 2020 was cut in half to $8 million due to the extension that will essentially have $8 million hits over three years.

With the reduction, he went from a salary cap burden that had to get a fair shake at starter, to a quarterback ready to compete to be a starter.

There are plenty of quarterbacks in the price range of Nick Foles, but they are on rookie salary contracts. When looking at quarterbacks on veteran salaries in that price range, Tyrod Taylor and Ryan Fitzpatrick stand out.

Taylor has a $7.5 million cap hit and Fitzpatrick has an $8 million cap hit. Last season, Jacob Brissett had an $8.5 million cap hit. The Bears were in talks with Teddy Bridgewater, but he has a $14 million cap hit this season. Now, Foles seems like a safer option for the price.

Below you can see a comparison of the last three seasons of these quarterbacks. All three have been up and down and around to different teams, so using just the last three years is a big enough sample, but also a recent sample.

Below, you can see their efficiency metrics over the same period of time. Foles is right in the mix with all four, although he obviously has one thing these quarterbacks do not. Tyrod Taylor has a playoff start that did not go well, but Foles has a great playoff run under his belt.

Still, when looking at his salary, putting it in with this group makes sense. On top of that, what stands out from these four is that they could start, but also leave the team open for another option.

Bridgwater is making the most, and even he is not locked in for the long term yet. Brissett just lost his job. Fitzpatrick and Taylor are on teams that are committing to them today, but both teams are expected to draft a quarterback.

Of course, those teams do not have a quarterback like Trubisky, but this salary for Foles does show that they are not committed to him at any point, now or later as a starter. He will have to earn that title, and it may be with a drafted a quarterback competing.