How Much Drew Brees, Tom Brady and Other QBs Make Per Career TD Thrown

NFL quarterbacks don’t get paid by the touchdown, but perhaps they should. No end-zone bomb would be possible without linemen blocking, tight ends running decoy routes and running backs selling play-action fakes. But in the end, it’s touchdowns that run up scores, win games, sell jerseys and keep televisions tuned into the game and their big-dollar advertisers.

Using player salary and statistical data, GOBankingRates determined how much money each of the NFL’s 32 starting quarterbacks make per touchdown based on their career earnings divided by their total combined passing touchdowns. All stats were taken from before the start of the 2020 season.

Readers might assume that giants of the sport like Tom Brady and Drew Brees are shoo-ins for the top spots, but they’re actually in the bottom third of the list. That’s because those veterans have their 1,000-plus combined touchdowns spread out across salaries paid out over two decades each. Some young guns in the league landed massive salaries and bonuses just a year or two and a handful of touchdowns into their careers, which comes out to much more cash per end-zone toss.

Here’s a look at what the NFL’s quarterbacks earn per touchdown, from emerging superstars to iconic Hall of Famers with money to burn.

Last updated: Sept. 1, 2021

• Team: Cincinnati Bengals
• Seasons played: 0
• Career earnings: $0
• Career passing touchdowns: 0
• Amount made per passing touchdown: $0

• Team: Jacksonville Jaguars
• Seasons played: 1
• Career earnings: $685,884
• Career passing touchdowns: 21
• Amount made per passing touchdown: $32,661

• Team: Dallas Cowboys
• Seasons played: 4
• Career earnings: $4,903,172
• Career passing touchdowns: 97
• Amount made per passing touchdown: $50,548

• Team: Baltimore Ravens
• Seasons played: 2
• Career earnings: $6,450,981
• Career passing touchdowns: 42
• Amount made per passing touchdown: $153,595

• Team: Houston Texans
• Seasons played: 3
• Career earnings: $11,438,115
• Career passing touchdowns: 71
• Amount made per passing touchdown: $161,100

Find Out: How These 36 Athletes Spent Their First Big Paycheck

• Team: Kansas City Chiefs
• Seasons played: 3
• Career earnings: $13,720,931
• Career passing touchdowns: 76
• Amount made per passing touchdown: $180,539

• Team: Miami Dolphins
• Seasons played: 15
• Career earnings: $63,541,098
• Career passing touchdowns: 210
• Amount made per passing touchdown: $302,577

• Team: Philadelphia Eagles
• Seasons played: 4
• Career earnings: $39,676,339
• Career passing touchdowns: 97
• Amount made per passing touchdown: $409,034

• Team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Seasons played: 20
• Career earnings: $235,166,804
• Career passing touchdowns: 541
• Amount made per passing touchdown: $434,689

• Team: New Orleans Saints
• Seasons played: 19
• Career earnings: $244,710,422
• Career passing touchdowns: 547
• Amount made per passing touchdown: $447,368

• Team: Seattle Seahawks
• Seasons played: 8
• Career earnings: $109,362,520
• Career passing touchdowns: 227
• Amount made per passing touchdown: $481,773

• Team: Cleveland Browns
• Seasons played: 2
• Career earnings: $24,326,411
• Career passing touchdowns: 49
• Amount made per passing touchdown: $496,457

• Team: Las Vegas Raiders
• Seasons played: 6
• Career earnings: $72,010,601
• Career passing touchdowns: 143
• Amount made per passing touchdown: $503,571

• Team: Chicago Bears
• Seasons played: 3
• Career earnings: $24,635,710
• Career passing touchdowns: 48
• Amount made per passing touchdown: $513,244

• Team: Buffalo Bills
• Seasons played: 2
• Career earnings: $15,460,561
• Career passing touchdowns: 30
• Amount made per passing touchdown: $515,352

• Team: Denver Broncos
• Seasons played: 1
• Career earnings: $3,613,776
• Career passing touchdowns: 7
• Amount made per passing touchdown: $516,254

• Team: Carolina Panthers
• Seasons played: 6
• Career earnings: $20,100,283
• Career passing touchdowns: 38
• Amount made per passing touchdown: $528,955

• Team: Tennessee Titans
• Seasons played: 8
• Career earnings: $77,975,979
• Career passing touchdowns: 145
• Amount made per passing touchdown: $537,765

• Team: Indianapolis Colts
• Seasons played: 16
• Career earnings: $218,917,656
• Career passing touchdowns: 397
• Amount made per passing touchdown: $551,430

See: Which Athletes Earn the Most Per Hour?

• Team: Los Angeles Rams
• Seasons played: 4
• Career earnings: $49,677,990
• Career passing touchdowns: 87
• Amount made per passing touchdown: $571,011

• Team: Green Bay Packers
• Seasons played: 15
• Career earnings: $219,364,529
• Career passing touchdowns: 364
• Amount made per passing touchdown: $602,650

• Team: New York Jets
• Seasons played: 2
• Career earnings: $22,413,233
• Career passing touchdowns: 36
• Amount made per passing touchdown: $622,590

• Team: Pittsburgh Steelers
• Seasons played: 16
• Career earnings: $227,286,864
• Career passing touchdowns: 363
• Amount made per passing touchdown: $626,135

• Team: Minnesota Vikings
• Seasons played: 8
• Career earnings: $100,640,630
• Career passing touchdowns: 155
• Amount made per passing touchdown: $649,294

• Team: New England Patriots
• Seasons played: 9
• Career earnings: $121,393,521
• Career passing touchdowns: 182
• Amount made per passing touchdown: $666,997

• Team: Atlanta Falcons
• Seasons played: 12
• Career earnings: $223,472,535
• Career passing touchdowns: 321
• Amount made per passing touchdown: $696,176

• Team: New York Giants
• Seasons played: 1
• Career earnings: $17,179,768
• Career passing touchdowns: 24
• Amount made per passing touchdown: $715,824

• Team: Detroit Lions
• Seasons played: 11
• Career earnings: $210,978,969
• Career passing touchdowns: 256
• Amount made per passing touchdown: $824,137

• Team: Los Angeles Chargers
• Seasons played: 9
• Career earnings: $49,301,548
• Career passing touchdowns: 54
• Amount made per passing touchdown: $912,992

• Team: Arizona Cardinals
• Seasons played: 1
• Career earnings: $24,119,294
• Career passing touchdowns: 20
• Amount made per passing touchdown: $1,205,965

• Team: Washington Football Team
• Seasons played: 1
• Career earnings: $8,999,808
• Career passing touchdowns: 7
• Amount made per passing touchdown: $1,285,687

• Team: San Francisco 49ers
• Seasons played: 6
• Career earnings: $64,058,637
• Career passing touchdowns: 44
• Amount made per passing touchdown: $1,455,878

More From GOBankingRates

• What Money Topics Do You Want Covered: Ask the Financially Savvy Female
• 5 Things Most Americans Don’t Know About Social Security
• 20 Home Renovations That Will Hurt Your Home’s Value
• What Income Level Is Considered Middle Class in Your State?

Methodology: GOBankingRates used ESPN’s 2020 NFL depth charts for all 32 teams to find the starting quarterback for every NFL team in order to find how much each quarterback has made per career touchdown thrown. Once the 32 starting quarterbacks were found, GOBankingRates found the following factors for each: (1) seasons played as sourced from Spotrac; (2) total career earnings as sourced from Spotrac; (3) total career passing touchdowns as sourced from Pro Football Reference; and (4) dollar ($) per passing touchdown found by dividing factor (2) by (3). All data were collected on and up to date as of Aug. 24, 2020.