The 2026 NFL season is just weeks away, with all 32 teams dreaming of reaching Super Bowl LXI in Los Angeles next February.
Once again, their fate will depend heavily on big-money quarterbacks. But who is top of the pile?
Here, the Daily Mail ranks the NFL’s top 10 quarterbacks when it comes to their performances and their star power.
10) AARON RODGERS – PITTSBURGH STEELERS
A choice that will no doubt enrage many NFL fans – what has Rodgers done on the field in recent years to warrant a spot in the top 10?
But not even the 42-year-old’s most ardent critics – and there are many – could dispute that he remains one of the league’s most recognizable and most significant players.
Only recently, he took aim at ESPN and Dr Anthony Fauci during another explosive appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. The ongoing mystery surrounding his wife, Brittani, has only heightened the attention paid to the quarterback’s private life.
On the field? After several seasons spent flirting with retirement and raging against both his creaking body and Father Time, this looks set to be Rodgers’ last dance. The odds are it won’t end with another Super Bowl but history suggests he won’t go quietly.
After months of uncertainty over his future, Aaron Rodgers is back with the Pittsburgh Steelers
The controversial 42-year-old has confirmed this will be his final season in the NFL
9) CALEB WILLIAMS – CHICAGO BEARS
At the end of his rookie campaign, the Heisman Trophy winner and No 1 draft pick looked shackled by the mess around him in Chicago. Then Ben Johnson arrived and together they helped revive the ailing franchise.
He remains inconsistent and the Bears were ultimately beaten by the Rams in the divisional round of the playoffs. But ‘Iceman’ Williams produced many box-office performances including six fourth-quarter comebacks – more than any other quarterback.
His high-risk, swashbuckling style has both landed Williams in trouble and led one NFL coach to tell ESPN: [Williams] makes plays only he and [Patrick] Mahomes can make.’
Caleb Williams won the Heisman Trophy before being drafted first overall by the Chicago Bears
8) DRAKE MAYE – NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
This might seem harsh, given last season the 23-year-old led New England to a first Super Bowl appearance since the days of Tom Brady.
But the man who beat him in Santa Clara – Sam Darnold of the Seattle Seahawks – doesn’t even make the list. That feels particularly cruel, too.
But the truth is, neither can compete with many of their rivals when it comes to commercial appeal and superstar status. That could change with Maye, who is only 23 and already one of the NFL’s brightest talents.
Early in his career, however, the Patriots star has preferred the quiet life with his wife Ann Michael. And no one in Foxborough will be complaining about that if he continues to perform like last season.
Drake Maye led New England to a first Super Bowl appearance since the days of Tom Brady
7) DAK PRESCOTT – DALLAS COWBOYS
There are not many quarterbacks whose performances spark fiercer debate among fans and analysts. Perhaps only Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles divides opinion like the Cowboys star.
Since he arrived in Dallas in 2016, the Cowboys have managed just two playoff wins and yet a recent ESPN survey of NFL coaches, scouts and executives put Prescott just outside the NFL’s top five quarterbacks.
He has racked up four seasons with 4,000 passing yards and 30 touchdown passes – only Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Brady, Rodgers and Philip Rivers have more.
But it has been a turbulent offseason for Prescott, whose fiancee Sarah Jane Ramos, the mother of his two children, abruptly called off their Lake Como wedding in March, five weeks before the April date, due to alleged cheating by the NFL star.
‘There were a lot of false narratives out there on both of our sides,’ he said recently. ‘That was very unfortunate.’
Since Dak Prescott arrived in Dallas in 2016, the Cowboys have managed just two playoff wins
His fiancee Sarah Jane Ramos – the mother of their two kids – called off their wedding in March
6) LAMAR JACKSON – BALTIMORE RAVENS
A supreme talent who can kill teams with his legs and, increasingly, with his arm, too. What a player. What a weapon he has been for the Ravens.
There are perhaps only two things stopping Jackson climbing to the top of these rankings: the two-time MVP keeps a lower profile than some of his rivals and he has yet to take Baltimore to the Super Bowl. Could that change under new head coach Jesse Minter?
The key for Baltimore is keeping Jackson healthy and happy – in three of the past five seasons, he has missed at least four games.
In 2023, meanwhile, he requested a trade and then, earlier this year, the quarterback fueled rumors of a possible move to the Las Vegas Raiders with a mysterious social media repost.
Lamar Jackson is still looking for a first Super Bowl appearance with the Baltimore Ravens
5) JUSTIN HERBERT – LOS ANGELES CHARGERS
This will be Herbert’s seventh season in the NFL and there can be no doubting his talent. The former first-round pick put up astonishing numbers in his first few years with the Chargers but, at 28, he is still awaiting a first playoff victory.
But even as Herbert’s career threatens to stall, his profile has skyrocketed over the past 12 months after he began dating the singer-songwriter, Madison Beer.
They have been spotted at baseball and basketball games; Herbert appeared in the music video of her song, ‘lovergirl’ while Beer is a regular on the sideline at Chargers games.
Two weeks ago, the couple announced their engagement. Now it’s Herbert’s time to secure a ring of his own.
Earlier this summer, Chargers star Justin Herbert announced his engagement to Madison Beer
The singer-songwriter is a regular on the sideline at Los Angeles Chargers games
4) JOE BURROW – CINCINNATI BENGALS
Another quarterback who, like Jackson, has a higher ceiling than almost anyone in the NFL. But another quarterback who, like Jackson, has struggled to stay healthy over recent seasons.
Since leading the Bengals to the Super Bowl in February 2022, Burrow has missed a quarter of Cincinnati’s regular season games.
Burrow has also gone through turmoil off the field. Back in December 2024, he became the latest sports star to fall victim to a home burglary. To add another dose of drama, the crime was reported by model Olivia Ponton, sparking rumors about a possible romance. She was reportedly spotted at Bengals practice last week.
For years, the quarterback had been dating his college sweetheart Olivia Holzmacher. Earlier this year, meanwhile, he was reportedly spotted leaving an Oscars party with Alix Earle, Stassie Karanikolaou and Tate McRae.
Since the 2022 season, Joe Burrow has missed a quarter of Cincinnati’s regular season games
The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback is pictured at the Met Gala in New York in May
3) MATTHEW STAFFORD – LOS ANGELES RAMS
At 38, Stafford is the reigning NFL MVP and the quarterback of a stacked team many expect to win this season’s Super Bowl – even after Wednesday’s rocky start in Australia and the 27-7 loss to San Francisco 49ers.
Stafford has already led the Rams to one Lombardi Trophy – in 2021 – and the former first overall pick is coming off the back of a sensational season that saw him lead the NFL in passing yards and passing touchdowns.
With the Super Bowl taking place on home turf – at SoFi Stadium – the stage is set for the 38-year-old to earn another ring and cement his legend.
Stafford also stays out of trouble off the field, too. Instead it’s his wife, Kelly, who tends to land him in hot water. Back in 2024, for instance, she revealed that she dated Stafford’s college backup ‘to p** him off.’
At 38, Matthew Stafford is the reigning NFL MVP and quarterback for the Super Bowl favorites
2) JOSH ALLEN – BUFFALO BILLS
The 30-year-old has been one of the most devastating quarterbacks in the NFL for several years, earning him a $330million contract and lucrative endorsement deals with the likes of New Balance and New Era.
But Allen’s profile among non-sports fans has also grown in recent years, thanks to his relationship with actress and singer Hailee Steinfeld. They tied the knot last May before Steinfeld gave birth to the couple’s first child – Harper Haize – in April.
But there remains one gaping hole on Allen’s resume: a Super Bowl. Buffalo has not reached the end-of-season showpiece since January 1994 and, despite Allen’s heroics, the Bills have fallen short time and again.
Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs have broken Buffalo hearts in four of the past six seasons.
The Bills’ Josh Allen has consistently been one of the most devastating NFL quarterbacks
Allen and Hailee Steinfeld tied the knot last May before having their first child in April
1) PATRICK MAHOMES – KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
The Chiefs superstar is coming back from a nasty knee injury that curtailed a 2025 campaign that saw Kansas City miss out on the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
Dynasty over? Only a fool would write off Mahomes – a three-time Super Bowl winner, a three-time Super Bowl MVP, a two-time NFL MVP. Over the past seven seasons, he has led Kansas City to five Super Bowl appearances.
And heading into 2026, the Chiefs quarterback remains one of the NFL’s biggest stars – on and off the field.
Together with his wife, Brittany, Mahomes has invested in sports teams across soccer, baseball, motorsports and pickleball, while he recently opened a steakhouse with teammate and close friend, Travis Kelce.
Thankfully, he is still not short of change after signing an eight-year, $504.75m contract with the Chiefs.
Patrick Mahomes, pictured with his wife Brittany, has won three Super Bowls with the Chiefs
