Kyler Murray’s contract breakdown: Where does Arizona Cardinals QB's salary rank among 5 highest-paid QBs?

Few quarterbacks in the NFL are as polarizing as Kyler Murray, but we do not know why.

However, since the former Oklahoma State QB was drafted as the first overall pick in 2019, he has received more than his fair share of criticism. Of course, Murray isn't perfect, but sometimes the vitriol against him online seems uncalled for. However, that hasn't stopped the Cardinals from building their franchise around the Oklahoma State University alum and paying him a salary worthy of an All-Pro selection. So what exactly is Murray earning as the Cardinals' QB1?

Kyler Murray is earning a whopping $230.5 million throughout a five-year contract as the starting quarterback of the Arizona Cardinals. His contract is set to begin in 2023, which is when his rookie scale deal is set to expire.

Murray's contract will see him earn $29,035,000 as a signing bonus. It will also peg his salary at an average of $46.1 million per year, including $189.5 million in guaranteed money ($103.3 million of which is guaranteed at signing). There's a potential 2028 out clause in his contract for the Cardinals, by which time Murray would have earned $219.335 million from the deal.

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How much has Kyler Murray earned in his NFL career?

Kyler Murray has played for only one team throughout his NFL career: the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals ignored all the skepticism about his height and selected him as the first overall picked of a decent 2019 NFL draft class. After his selection, he was signed to a $35,658,014 deal for four seasons.

As part of his original contract, he was given a $23,589,924 signing bonus. Moreover, he was stipulated to get an average season salary of $8,914,504 per season. His salary also included $35,658,014 total guarantees (all of which were guaranteed at signing).

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Where does Cardinals QB's salary rank among the five highest-paid QBs?

Kyler Murray's current salary ranks third highest in the NFL, behind future first-ballot Hall of Fame QBs, Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson.

Murray is joined in the top five by 2023 NFL regular season MVP Patrick Mahomes, another player who will most certainly get a jacket at Canton once his career ends. Oh, and then there's Deshaun Watson, a player the less said about his off-the-field activities, the better.

As you can see from the above list, all of the aforementioned players are All-Pro caliber, and they had to work to earn that kind of money. Other franchise QBs like Josh Allen, Matthew Stafford, Dak Prescott, Daniel Jones and Derek Carr round up the list.