The Tennessee Titans are set to sign quarterback Ryan Tannehill to a monster four-year deal worth $118 million and $91 million guaranteed according to ESPN’s Jeff Darlington.
His $29.5 million average annual value is the seventh-highest in the NFL, and pushes 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo down a notch in the top-10 highest-paid QBs in the league.
Here’s what the top 10 looks like if Tannehill winds up inking his four-year, $118 million deal, via Over the Cap:
1. Russell Wilson $35 million
2. Ben Roethlisberger $34 million
3. Jared Goff $33.5 million
t-3. Aaron Rodgers $33.5 million
5. Carson Wentz $32 million
6. Matt Ryan $30 million
7. Ryan Tannehill $29.5 million
8. Kirk Cousins $28 million
9. Jimmy Garoppolo $27.5 million
10. Matthew Stafford $27 million
This year’s free agent market for quarterbacks could wind up pushing Garoppolo, who went 13-3 in his first full year as a starter in 2019, out of the top 10. Dak Prescott, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Teddy Bridgewater, Jameis Winston and Philip Rivers could all land deals with an AAV north of Garoppolo’s $27.5 million.
This underscores how important it is for the 49ers to continue building around Garoppolo as their franchise quarterback. He’s going to be on an affordable deal relative to the rest of the league’s non-rookie signal callers. This will allow San Francisco to fit players like DeForest Buckner and George Kittle under the salary cap on contracts at or near the top of their markets, especially if the cap continues to climb.
It also pushes back against some of the criticism that Garoppolo isn’t performing up to the deal he signed ahead of the 2018 season. While he got hurt three games into Year 1 of the contract, he took the team to the Super Bowl while posting the eighth-best passer rating and the highest yards per attempt among quarterbacks with more than 10 starts in the second year of his contract.
While talk in the offseason surrounded Garoppolo’s contract and the relative ease the 49ers can get out of it over the next three years, they have him at a reasonable price for the next three seasons assuming they don’t restructure or extend him.
As long as Garoppolo keeps outperforming quarterbacks making more money than he does, the 49ers should be in position to continue building Super Bowl contenders.
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