Jason Kelce sees a billion-dollar quarterback on the NFL’s horizon, and he just told his brother Travis exactly when it will happen. The former Philadelphia Eagles center stated the NFL is in for “absurd contracts” in the near future, with teams already bracing for astronomical financial growth due to upcoming media rights negotiations.

“You look four or five years down the line…” Jason said on the New Heights podcast. “I wouldn’t be surprised, but in the next ten years, you’ll see a quarterback getting like a billion-dollar contract. I’m not messing with you because look at what Pat [Patrick Mahomes] signed, Pat signed a 500 million dollar deal, right? Within ten years, the media contracts are all going to double. Now, it’s going to be a long-term deal. You’re going to see quarterbacks making close to 100 million dollars a year…”

The NFL continues to see massive financial growth, and the rising salary cap is a clear sign of it. Recently, the league set the cap for the 2026 season at $301.2 million, giving teams a raise of nearly $22 million from last year. Citing Patrick Mahomes’ ten-year extension worth $503 million, Jason Kelce believes it may only be the beginning.

According to him, teams are not hesitant to hand out massive contracts because they are betting on the league’s rising revenue. It will push the overall cap to rise drastically every year, ultimately increasing the team’s individual budget. The reason for such high expectations is the league’s ongoing negotiations for new media rights deals with major broadcasting networks.

Kelce thinks hefty media deals make up most of the revenue that determines the annual salary cap. When Travis pointed out how the cap rose by $40 million over the last two seasons, Jason agreed. However, he argued that the real financial explosion will kick in once the NFL completes its next set of media agreements.

There may be some merit to what Jason Kelce suggested. Just five years after Patrick Mahomes reset the landscape, another massive deal arrived in 2025. Josh Allen followed with a six-year, $330 million contract with the Buffalo Bills, the second-largest total value for a quarterback in NFL history. With this trend rising, who knows what the next big 10-year extension could look like?

Jason Kelce further compared the situation to the NBA, which recently signed massive broadcasting deals despite steady viewership. In Jason’s opinion, major networks are ready to spend huge amounts on the NFL, which has consistently dominated television ratings. That’s why giant media houses such as FOX and CBS will aggressively compete to secure future broadcast rights.

“They know these numbers are going to be ridiculous in four or five years, and they’re starting to try and renegotiate them early,” Jason added. “So it might even happen earlier. I don’t know, man. I think this is a clear sign that all of these teams know the salary cap.”

With the NFL’s financial engine showing no signs of slowing, the league’s salary cap trajectory tells its own story. Back in 2021, teams operated with a $182.5 million cap. Fast forward to 2026, and that number has surged past $300 million. If the current growth curve holds, the cap could realistically push toward the $400 million range by 2030.

Meanwhile, Jason’s bold assessment comes on the heels of the NFL’s ongoing talks with media houses.

Jason Kelce’s prediction comes amid the NFL’s broadcast agreement

The NFL gears up to renegotiate its $110 billion US broadcast agreements ahead of the 2026 season. In 2021, they signed 11-year contracts with Amazon, CBS, ESPN, Fox, and NBC. The current contract also includes an opt-out option available in 2029. But with ever-rising viewership, the NFL knows it needs to reset its ceiling in the media landscape. 

The belief became even firmer after the NBA locked in a whopping $76 billion rights deal last year. Earlier, many television showrunners expected the negotiations not to begin until later in the year. However, David Ellison’s acquisition of Paramount Global may have made the NFL more eager than ever. For the league, it’s a perfect chance to reset the benchmark.

It is because large real-time audiences have become rare in the media environment lately. Meanwhile, the NFL looks forward to negotiating separately with each of its media partners.

These networks could “buy out” the existing opt-out clause, allowing them to secure the country’s highly valuable television content through 2033 or 2034.

The league could pull it off by invoking a “change of control” clause tied to Paramount to open talks with CBS Sports. The network currently airs two AFC games each Sunday afternoon and enjoyed strong ratings growth during the 2025 regular season.

Its average audience rose 11%, totaling around 21.25 million viewers. Moreover, the 4:30 p.m. window became the most-watched television time slot of the week.

Once that negotiation begins, the league could hold similar talks with FOX Sports, which broadcasts NFC games during the same window on Sunday afternoons. Later, the NFL will likely turn to its prime-time partners such as ESPN, NBC, and Amazon. These media companies may have to increase their offers to retain their current broadcast packages.

Amid the talks, rumors of the league tweaking its media inventory have also surfaced. They might move some regional games away from CBS and Fox to build a new package for Netflix.

Another option would be to shift international games to a dedicated broadcast slot. If these early renegotiations work out, the league could secure even bigger media deals. The move would further cement its dominance in the sports broadcasting market.