NFL's $900 Million Quarterback Spending Spree

After helping Matt Ryan become the NFL's first $30 million per year player, agent Todd France was thrilled for Ryan but didn't pop any corks around the Creative Artists Agency office in Atlanta.

France, who co-brokered the deal with Tom Condon that earned Ryan $150 million over five years with $100 million guaranteed in May 2018, went home to see his family, mentally celebrated the Ryans' dreams realized, then it was onto the next one.

In the past 12 months alone, April to April, veteran quarterbacks racked up more than $900 million in extensions or deals with new teams. That's more than double the total from the previous 12-month span.

The going rate for top quarterbacks has ballooned from around $20 million to $35 million per year since 2015. That's 75% growth in that span, far exceeding an NFL salary cap that rose from $143.8 million to $198.2 million during the same time period.

Head coaches and general managers lament the struggles of building a 53-man team when one player occupies nearly 20% of their cap.