Comparing Bills QB Josh Allen’s Stats to Trevor Lawrence Just Because It’s Funny

The NFL is not a meritocracy.

The most qualified or suitable candidates are often not hired for open positions, just as the most talented and productive players are often not the highest paid at their respective positions. The market, like any other, is prone to bubbles and crashes and experiences constant resets.

The Jacksonville Jaguars launched their quarterback at the top of the passer salary hierarchy Thursday night, giving signal-caller Trevor Lawrence a five-year, $275 million contract that includes $200 million in guarantees. The deal will see the 24-year-old earn an average annual salary of $55 million, with his rise pushing Buffalo Bills franchise player Josh Allen and his humble Annual salary of $43 million on the top 10 entirely.

Anyone familiar with how NFL contracts work understands why Lawrence now earns considerably more than Allen; The Buffalo signal-caller signed in the summer of 2021, making him the second-highest paid passer in football. The market has since been reset several times; As a 24-year-old ascending player, Lawrence was naturally in line for a big payday, and that’s exactly what happened.

The market will soon undergo a correction; we can’t imagine Allen being the 11th highest paid quarterback in the league—or Patrick Mahomes barely reaches the top 10 at his position-for a long time. That said, it’s always fun to point out the absurdity of the present…and compare Allen’s stats to those of the highest-paid quarterback in the league.

Considering their respective statistics, there is really no comparison. Allen has the upper hand in every important stat, roughly doubling his career passing yards while averaging higher yards per game and yards per attempt. There is No comparison between their rushing statistics.

The only statistic where Lawrence has the light the advantage lies in career completion percentage (62.8 vs. 62.3); he also threw far fewer interceptions (39 to 78), but that’s to be expected given the sample size.

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And speaking of sample size, that’s what ultimately makes this comparison futile: Entering the league in 2018, Allen played about twice as many games as Lawrence.

Comparing their stats over their first three seasons is a little more honest, but we’ll still give the edge to Allen. Lawrence has the edge over Buffalo’s signal-caller in passing yards, but Allen has thrown more touchdowns and fewer interceptions and still significantly overshadows Lawrence on the ground (it’s also worth noting that national pundits have suggested that Allen was bad over two thirds of this section).

Where Lawrence has the (surprising) objective advantage over Allen is in head-to-head confrontations; The Jaguars are 2-0 against the Bills since Lawrence entered the league, although their two victories can perhaps be attributed more to Buffalo’s temporary ineptitude rather than Lawrence’s dominance.

Ultimately this is just a fun comparison between one of the best quarterbacks in the league and the highest paid quarterback in the league; Few truly believe the two players are currently in the same tier, although Lawrence could soon find his way to the upper echelon of signal-callers. The market will probably reset soon and these statistics, once again, will be of no use; That said, they paint a momentary and humorous picture of the quarterback market.