Jacoby Brissett gets reworked Cardinals deal worth up to $21 million
The Cardinals and Jacoby Brissett agreed to a reworked contract on Sunday that pays the quarterback $15.5 million guaranteed this season with the chance to reach $21 million through incentives, according to a recent X post by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The agreement ends a standoff that ran through the entire offseason.
Brissett was in the second year of a two-year deal scheduled to pay him a $4.88 million base salary, backup money for a player who finished last season as the starter and enters this one atop the depth chart. No new years were added in the restructuring, so he remains on track for free agency next March.
The quarterback spent months making his position clear. Brissett skipped most of the voluntary offseason program, reported to mandatory minicamp but sat out of practice as a hold-in, and only returned to the field Thursday when training camp opened.
Even then, he stuck to individual drills while Gardner Minshew, rookie Carson Beck, and Kedon Slovis took the team reps. Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro reported last week that Brissett would take $15 million for the season, a number the final deal cleared.
Arizona bet on Jacoby Brissett when it released Kyler Murray
The leverage came from last season. Brissett signed in 2025 to back up Kyler Murray, took over when Murray went down in Week 5, and started the final 12 games, throwing for 3,366 yards with 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions. The team went 1-11 in those starts, but the front office saw enough in the offense to release Murray this offseason and absorb $36.8 million in dead money, a decision that made Brissett the unquestioned starter under Mike LaFleur, the first-year head coach who confirmed him as the projected starter when camp opened.
Term update: Jacoby Brissett will sign a one-year, $15.5 million guaranteed deal worth up to $21 million with incentives, per source. https://t.co/iagPYIiiPR
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 26, 2026
The raise nearly triples what he was scheduled to earn. His previous contract averaged $6.25 million per year, and the new figure puts him in range of the league’s median for starting QBs this season.
Brissett entered the league as a third-round pick of the Patriots in 2016 and has appeared in 101 games with a 20-45 record as a starter, throwing for 14,766 yards with 76 touchdowns and 32 interceptions across stops in New England, Indianapolis, Miami, Cleveland, Washington and Arizona. He turns 34 in Dec.
The one-year structure now keeps the pressure on both sides. He gets paid like a starter and plays for his next contract at the same time, and the Cardinals used the first pick of the third round in April on Beck, who represents the plan after him. Camp continues this week, now that the money is settled.
About The Author
