Here’s how it breaks down:
Although Joe Burrow has more take home pay in 2026, Stafford has a higher cap hit than him and every other quarterback next season by just narrowly edging out Joe Burrow at $48 million.
Justin Herbert, Deshaun Watson, Allen, Dak Prescott, Baker Mayfield, and Sam Darnold round out the top-8.
But even though Stafford has a higher cap hit, his percentage of the total Rams salary cap is actually lower than it’s been since 2023:
From that perspective, which is more important than total cap hit, Stafford is practically taking a discount.
Could Stafford’s cap hit go lower?
Doubtful. It does not seem as though the Rams will attempt to touch Stafford’s contract with a pay cut or a restructure or an extension. Sean McVay is happy for Stafford to go year-to-year with his career future, so this is where his contract stands and the Rams knew that going into 2026.
It also doesn’t appear as the Rams need the salary cap space for any reason.
At just 15.4% of the cap, there is no urgency to get more cap room despite Stafford being the “highest-paid quarterback” in the league this year by salary cap hit.
Naturally a quarterback will get older every new season. But in some cases, he will also become more expensive.