Cardinals cave and pay Jacoby Brissett after holdout standoff

Jacoby Brissett was staring down a $4.88 million base salary in year two of his deal with the Cardinals, which for a starting NFL quarterback is basically minimum wage. So he did what quarterbacks with leverage do: he skipped most of the team's offseason program and made it clear he wasn't showing up to play out that number. Arizona apparently got the message.

The final numbers landed fast. Schefter reported Brissett will get a one-year deal worth $15.5 million guaranteed, with incentives pushing the total up to $21 million. That's more than triple what he was previously scheduled to earn in 2026, and per multiple reports it makes him one of the better-paid bridge starters in the league for the season.

What Arizona didn't do is extend him. Schefter noted no new years were added, so Brissett is still on track to hit unrestricted free agency after this season. That's the real story here — the Cardinals paid up to keep the peace and secure their Week 1 starter, but they're not committing beyond 2026. It's a raise, not a vote of confidence in the long-term future, which tracks with a front office that just used the No. 3 overall pick on a running back and still has Kyler Murray's timeline to sort out.

Brissett took over as Arizona's starter in Week 6 last season after Murray went down, and he was efficient enough running the offense that the Cardinals leaned on him for 12 starts. The guy most benefiting from Brissett locking in as the guy again is tight end Trey McBride, who caught 126 passes for 1,239 yards and 11 touchdowns last year — with 10 of those scores coming after Brissett took the reins. Fantasy analysts were quick to connect the dots.

That McBride connection isn't a stretch — it's the actual football reason this contract matters beyond Brissett's bank account. McBride was already the TE1 conversation piece in a middling Arizona passing attack, and locking in the quarterback who fed him targets all last season removes a real variable heading into camp. Add in a new play-caller in Mike LaFleur and a crowded backfield with rookie Jeremiyah Love, and Brissett's return gives the offense at least one settled piece before September.

For now, this is a short-term fix dressed up as a big number. Brissett gets paid what he's worth for a year, the Cardinals get their starter back at camp on time, and everyone punts the real quarterback question to next offseason.