In another reminder that there’s really no such thing as a middle class in the NFL quarterback market, EJ Manuel has signed a decidedly lower-class contract with the Raiders.
Manuel signed for one year, with an $800,000 salary and nothing guaranteed, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network.
Compare Manuel to Mike Glennon. Both were chosen in the 2013 NFL draft. Both started as rookies but have been backups more recently. Their stats are fairly similar, with Glennon’s just a little bit better: Glennon has a career passer rating of 84.6 in 18 career starts, while Manuel has a career passer rating of 77.5 in 17 career starts.
But being “just a little bit better” is, for an NFL quarterback, worth tens of millions of dollars. Glennon signed with the Bears for a three-year, $45 million contract with $18.5 million fully guaranteed at signing.
That’s because there’s not a middle class in the NFL: If a team is signing you to be its starter, as the Bears did with Glennon, that team is going to make you fabulously wealthy. If a team is signing you to be its backup, you’re going to have to settle for something close to the league minimum. That’s life for an NFL quarterback.
