We live in a world where Jared Goff makes significantly more money than Josh Allen

Here comes the money.

Bills quarterback Josh Allen heads off the field after a 42-36 overtire loss to the Chiefs knocked / Jamie Germano / USA TODAY NETWORK

Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff signed a four-year, $212 million extension on May 13th, 2024, meaning the signal-caller now makes $53 million a year. The contract, which includes $170 million in guarantees, makes Goff the second-highest-paid quarterback in the league behind only Cincinnati Bengals passer Joe Burrow.

Albert Breer discussed what that meant for the likes of Tua Tagovailoa, Jordan Love, and Brock Purdy in a recent article for Sports Illustrated. He believes those three could be asking in the range of $45-$50 million a year, the range of Kirk Cousins's new contract and Goff’s extension. 

Details on Lions QB Jared Goff's four-year, $212 million extension ...

• $73 million signing bonus.
• $125 million over the first two years.
• $165 million over the first three years.
• $57 million in 2028, which is an option year.

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) May 14, 2024

While it’s great that these players are getting their bag, what does it mean for quarterbacks in the upper-echelon? What does it mean for Josh Allen? 

Allen signed a six-year $258 million extension in 2021, where he earns an eye-watering $43 million per year. But, that $43 million makes him the 10th highest-paid quarterback in the NFL, which does not reflect his status as a consensus top-three quarterback in the league. Since Allen signed his new deal, he’s amassed:

15,045 total yards and 128 total touchdowns, just in the regular season alone. Then in the postseason, he showed how he can assert his dominance, with 1,968 total yards and 21 total touchdowns. These are staggering statistics, and in that period of time only Patrick Mahomes has put up better numbers. Allen has also won plenty of accolades since 2021, such as six AFC Offensive Player of Week awards, a Pro Bowl selection, and he's been named in the top 15 of the NFL Top 100 every year since 2021. 

Most passing yards since 2021:

Patrick Mahomes - 14,272
Josh Allen - 12,996
Justin Herbert - 12,887
Jared Goff - 12,258
Derek Carr - 12,204
Dak Prescott - 11,825
Trevor Lawrence - 11,770
Joe Burrow - 11,395
Kirk Cousins - 11,099
Matthew Stafford - 10,938

— NFL Stats (@NFL_Stats) May 9, 2024

Allen has also broken essentially every single Buffalo passing record, whether it be regular season or in-game. Allen has also become the seventh all-time leading rusher in Bills history.

Jared Goff is a very good quarterback and has had an admirable career resurgence in Detroit. He’s become one of the foundations of this new era for the Lions, but he has his limitations... and is simply not at the same level as Josh Allen. 

Goff shouldn't be critiqued for signing a massive deal that sees him earn north of $50 million annually; the quarterback market has blossomed over the past few seasons, and Goff's contract is in line with what he was expected to earn in this bubble. That said, his deal raises an interesting question: how much will the Bills have to spend when Allen looks for a new deal? And when will the deal come?

We're not going to try and project what the exact figures will be, but when Allen asks for an extension, it'll be a jaw-dropping amount of money.