Through four games against the Vikings in 2024, Sam Darnold is playing the best football of his NFL career.
The 27-year-old quarterback from Minnesota experienced some struggles at the destination early in his career, failing to live up to the high expectations placed on first-round quarterbacks. But in 2024, Darnold is enjoying a major career resurgence and could be in MVP talks as his Vikings improve to 4-0 in Week 5.
Darnold is considered a veteran now, but it doesn’t seem that long ago that he was a young quarterback trying to find his rhythm in New York’s high-pressure environment. Darnold didn’t have much success in his first few seasons, but after briefly serving in a backup role, he’s now earned the starting job and is making the most of it.
As Darnold continues to lead Minnesota to the NFC North championship this season, here’s a look at the quarterback’s football career thus far and how much money he’s made along the way.
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What college did Sam Darnold attend?
Technically, Darnold only spent two seasons at USC. However, this does not include his redshirt season as a true freshman in 2015.
In 2016, he took over as the Trojans’ starting quarterback just four games into the season. It was a job he couldn’t afford to lose. With Darnold at the helm, USC lost just one game that season. In his redshirt freshman year, Darnold set a program record for most touchdown passes by a freshman with 26, won the 2016 Pac-12 Freshman Offensive Player of the Year, and led USC to a 52-5 victory over Penn State in the Rose Bowl. Led them to 49 victories.
The following season, Darnold was talked about winning the Heisman Trophy early in the season, but wasn’t as dominant. But he still led the Trojans to a Cotton Bowl appearance.
Darnold quickly became one of the top quarterback prospects in the country, displaying just about everything an NFL franchise looks for in a rookie quarterback: size, arm strength, accuracy, and IQ. His athleticism didn’t jump off the page, but his pocket presence did.
Darnold finished his two non-redshirt seasons at USC with a 20-4 record, over 7,000 passing yards and 57 passing touchdowns. Below is a complete look at how Darnold performed in each of his two seasons in college.
Sam Darnold College Statistics
Annual record completion. % Passing Yards Passing TDsINTsRating2015*——————20169-167.2%3,086319161.1201711-363.1%4,1432613148.1Total20-464.9%7,2295722153.7
*Darnold redshirted during the 2015 season.
Sam Darnold’s draft class
After several stellar seasons at USC, Darnold announced he would enter the 2018 NFL Draft and quickly became one of the top prospects.
NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein’s prospect breakdown ranks Darnold in the top three, praising his size, accuracy, poise and arm strength, and comparing him to Andrew Luck. It was expected. Zierlein also wrote that Darnold could benefit from “early sideline seasoning” to better handle coverage before he starts, but he remains a solid player on the floor. It was a starter.
“Darnold has the tools to succeed in any system, and he doesn’t need to have perfect protection to be successful,” Zierlein wrote. “He has the ceiling to become one of the top quarterbacks in the game as he gains more experience.”
The hype surrounding Darnold became reality on draft day, as the Jets selected him with the third overall pick in hopes of him becoming their next franchise quarterback. He was selected after Baker Mayfield and Saquon Barkley but ahead of future superstars like Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson.
Here are all the quarterbacks taken in the 2018 NFL Draft.
2018 NFL Draft QB
Round Pick Team Player College 11 Browns Baker Mayfield Oklahoma 13 Jets Sam Darnold USC 17 Bills Josh Allen Wyoming 110 Cardinals Josh Rosen UCLA 132 Ravens Lamar Jackson Louisville 376 Steelers Mason Rudolph Oklahoma State 4108 Giants Kyle Lauletta Richmond 5171 Cowboys Zmike Whitewes Tern Kentucky 6199 Titans Luke Faulk Washington State 6203 Jaguars Tanner Lee Nebraska 7219 Patriots Danny Etling LSU7220 Seahawks Alex McGough FIU7249 Bengals Logan Woodside Toledo
Week 5 Fantasy Rankings
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How many teams did Sam Darnold play for?
Darnold played for four NFL franchises during his career.
New York Jets Carolina Panthers San Francisco 49ers Minnesota Vikings
Darnold was drafted by New York and spent several seasons with the team before being traded to the Panthers. Darnold started several games at Carolina, but was plagued by injuries and was a reserve at one point. He signed a one-year deal to be the 49ers’ backup in 2023.
Darnold has been on a roll since signing a one-year deal with the Vikings last offseason.
Jets (2018-2020)
Darnold began his career with the Jets. He became the team’s Week 1 starter right out of the jump, making him the youngest Opening Day starting quarterback since the AFL-NFL merger. Darnold’s first career pass was a pick-six against the Lions, a game New York won.
During his rookie season, Darnold threw a career-high 15 interceptions and missed three games. Darnold had some high points, including three touchdown passes in a win over Denver, but turnover issues and a low completion percentage (57.7 percent) limited Darnold’s first NFL season. Reached. The Jets finished with 4 wins and 12 losses.
Darnold, in his second year, had a solid performance in Week 6 against the Cowboys, gaining 338 yards, and the Jets improved on their previous record with a 7-9 record. However, missing out on the playoffs was still a disappointment for New York. Darnold’s overall numbers were decent (3,024 passing yards, 19 touchdowns, 13 interceptions, 84.3 rating), but not as impressive as the Jets had hoped when they selected him No. 3 overall.
The 2020 season was the last time Darnold wore a Jets uniform. The team took a big step back, finishing 2-14, and the quarterback threw more interceptions (11) than touchdown passes (9) in the 12 games he played. The team’s lack of success and interception issues ultimately influenced the Jets’ decision to move on from Darnold, as they turned to veteran Joe Flacco and new first-round pick Zach Wilson.
Panthers (2021-2022)
Darnold was traded to Carolina in April 2021 and made his first start for the Panthers against his former Jets later that year. He led Carolina to victory with 279 passing yards and two total touchdowns.
After some success early in the season, Darnold went down with a shoulder injury and was placed on IR. By the time Cam Newton returned to the field during his second stint with the Panthers, Darnold was getting split playing time at quarterback and had nine passing touchdowns and 13 interceptions in 2021. was limited. Carolina finished in fifth place. 12.
Darnold did not open the season as the team’s starting quarterback in 2022. Mayfield, who also later sought to revive his career in Tampa Bay, was the Panthers’ QB1, but Darnold was sidelined with a preseason injury anyway. However, once he returned to the game, he had the best start and fastest rise of his career up to that point. In his final outing at Carolina, Darnold threw for 1,143 yards and seven touchdowns against three interceptions, leading his team to a 4-2 record.
However, the Panthers released him as a free agent after the season.
49ers (2023)
Darnold signed a one-year contract with San Francisco in March 2023. He backed up Brock Purdy throughout the season, but only started in the final game of the regular season, when the 49ers ran out of games. In that game, he had 189 passing yards, a passing touchdown, and a rushing score in a loss.
But playing for a San Francisco team known for developing strong pocket passers, Darnold had the opportunity to watch and learn from the sidelines as the 49ers made their way to the Super Bowl. As Zierlein noted in his outlook breakdown a few years ago, some kind of “sideline seasoning” likely helped Darnold’s development as he tried to forget his past mistakes.
Vikings (2024-present)
Darnold signed a one-year, $10 million contract with the Vikings in March. Minnesota sparked potential quarterback controversy by drafting Michigan State quarterback JJ McCarthy, but the rookie endured a season-ending knee injury during the preseason.
Darnold was named QB1 for the Vikings and has been great so far this season. He recently won the NFC Offensive Player of the Month for September after throwing for 932 yards and 11 touchdowns on a 68.9 percent completion rate in his first four games. Minnesota remained undefeated through Week 4, with Darnold solving their turnover problems and throwing just three interceptions.
Sam Darnold’s lifetime earnings
Darnold has yet to earn a significant contract in the NFL like other current starting quarterbacks, as he originally played on his rookie contract and then benefited from several one-year deals.
The $10 million contract he signed with the Vikings included $8.75 million guaranteed, according to Spotrac. The site also estimates his lifetime earnings at just over $65 million, with most of that coming from the first year of his rookie contract with the Jets and the $18,858,000 worth of money the Panthers exercised against Darnold in 2022. This is due to club options.
Spotrac also ranks Darnold 29th in lifetime earnings among active quarterbacks in the NFL, behind Geno Smith, Jalen Hurts and Trevor Lawrence, but ahead of Jacoby Brissett and Zach Brissett. Wilson, ahead of names like Mitchell Trubisky.
Darnold will have a chance to cash in if he can maintain his strong play through the remainder of 2024. He is set to become a free agent after this season and could soon be one of the best players at his position.
Here are the top 10 quarterbacks in the 2025 NFL free agent class based on average annual value (AAV) in 2024, according to Spotrac.
Players Current Affiliation AAV Sam Darnold Vikings $10 million Zach Wilson Broncos $8.787 billion Trey Lance Cowboys $8.526 billion Jacoby Brissett Patriots $8 million Taylor Heinicke Chargers $7 million Marcus Marcus Mario Tacomanders $6 million Drew Lock Giants $5 million Jarrett Stidham Broncos $5 million Andy Dalton Panthers $5 million Just Fields Steelers $4,717,000
Fields also has a strong start in 2024 and is expected to hit the open market after this season, while Darnold could be the top player available at the position next offseason.
The Vikings still have McCarthy on the sidelines, which could affect future plans with Darnold. However, if Darnold maintains his outstanding play in Minnesota, teams in need of a starting quarterback option could show significant interest in Darnold in 2025.
