Sam Darnold Contract: How much will Panthers QB earn in 2022 as Baker Mayfield's understudy?

Baker Mayfield was just named the Carolina Panthers' starting quarterback over Sam Darnold for Week 1 this season. When Mayfield's former team comes to town, he will be under center trying to ensure the Cleveland Browns start on the wrong foot.

Mayfield earned the starter's job by outplaying Darnold, who struggled last year as the starter. Mayfield was traded for in the offseason, signaling the end of an era in Charlotte, but the Panthers pretended to have a quarterback battle that Mayfield has now won.

Darnold was never paid like an elite NFL quarterback. He never got the mega-contract that Kyler Murray, Deshaun Watson, and Lamar Jackson were offered.

However, now that he's the backup in Carolina, Darnold's contract is under much more scrutiny. For the 2022 season, the former Jets quarterback will earn roughly $18.5 million to sit on the bench for the most part.

By comparison, Mayfield will make less than $5 million. A contract disparity like this is rare in the NFL, but it does happen occasionally. Darnold is making more than he probably should be, and Mayfield took a bit of a pay cut to leave Cleveland.

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Why is Sam Darnold not starting anymore?

Darnold has officially lost the starting job, which would have been a surprise a year ago. He looked pretty solid in the preseason last year, and the Panthers began the season 3-0.

It looked like the former New York Jet was shaking off the lack of development that befell him in New York, but the wheels fell off eventually.

The Panthers finished 5-12, and suddenly, head coach Matt Rhule was on the hot seat. He desperately needed a quarterback, but without a lot of draft capital, they couldn't find a starter.

They traded for Mayfield and benched Darnold because the latter is not a starter in the NFL. The Jets may have ruined him because he did have potential coming out of college, but that's moot now.

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The Panthers could not afford to start him in another season, especially not with coaching and front office jobs on the line.

Mayfield isn't an MVP-level player, but he's a solid starter, which the Panthers discovered was not precisely true of Darnold.

If Mayfield falters, the team may bring the former USC product back into the lineup, but that seems highly unlikely at this point. For all intents and purposes, the former starter is done.