Breaking down that data in a couple different ways...
Here are the teams which spent 5% or less of their cap on QB:
Year |
Team |
QB Cap % |
Wins |
2021 |
Eagles |
1.27% |
9 |
2021 |
Ravens |
2.18% |
8 |
2021 |
Patriots |
2.26% |
10 |
2021 |
Broncos |
3.50% |
7 |
2021 |
Jets |
3.75% |
4 |
2021 |
Jaguars |
4.23% |
3 |
2021 |
Chargers |
4.67% |
9 |
2021 |
Giants |
4.73% |
4 |
2021 |
Chiefs |
4.96% |
12 |
2021 |
Bengals |
5.00% |
10 |
10 teams, average 7.6 wins. Obviously dragged down by incompetent teams like the Jets/Jaguars/Giants.
Mahomes & Burrow just barely qualified for this group or it would have been uglier.
5.01% to 10%:
2021 |
Cardinals |
5.77% |
11 |
2021 |
Dolphins |
6.03% |
9 |
2021 |
Saints |
6.17% |
9 |
2021 |
Titans |
6.23% |
12 |
2021 |
Panthers |
6.25% |
5 |
2021 |
Commanders |
6.60% |
7 |
2021 |
Bills |
6.75% |
11 |
2021 |
Lions |
7.02% |
3.5 |
2021 |
Buccaneers |
7.44% |
13 |
2021 |
Bears |
7.94% |
6 |
2021 |
Browns |
8.47% |
8 |
2021 |
Cowboys |
9.03% |
12 |
12 teams, average 8.9 wins. Worst teams in this sector were the Lions (Goff vastly overpaid), Panthers (Cam & Darnold) & Bears (Foles, Dalton & Fields).
Bucs got a nice, cheap, Brady year, Cowboys got Dak's contract before it exploded, same for Bills & Titans.
10.01% to 15% is a small group:
2021 |
Rams |
11.50% |
12 |
2021 |
Colts |
11.53% |
9 |
2021 |
Texans |
11.79% |
4 |
2021 |
Raiders |
13.47% |
10 |
4 teams, average 8.8 wins. Includes the SB winner, and the average would be even higher if the Texans weren't paying Watson to not play.
15.01%+
2021 |
Falcons |
15.90% |
5 |
2021 |
Steelers |
15.93% |
9.5 |
2021 |
Packers |
16.05% |
13 |
2021 |
49ers |
16.65% |
10 |
2021 |
Vikings |
17.77% |
8 |
2021 |
Seahawks |
18.22% |
7 |
6 teams, average 8.8 wins. Main takeaway from this list is Tomlin must be a really good coach. Shanahan, too.
So the 4 sections:
5% or less: 7.6 wins
10% or less: 8.9 wins
15% or less: 8.8 wins
More than 15%: 8.8 wins