Sam Darnold has had a rocky path to success in the NFL to begin his career. The USC product played two seasons for the school, and being from southern California, Darnold did not have to travel far from home for his college ball. He played very well in college and was drafted over NFL superstars Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson.
Sam Darnold’s Previous Teams and Contract Agreements
The third overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft by the New York Jets, Darnold was expected to be a franchise saver based on where he was picked. He signed a four-year, $30,247,715 guaranteed contract, with a $20,078,338 signing bonus.
It was safe to say that the plan of Darnold saving the franchise did not work out for the Jets, as they moved on from him very quickly, trading him for a three-pick haul in the 2021 offseason.
He was moved to the Carolina Panthers to be their new starter, where he again struggled to find success in the 2021 season. With his fifth-year option available to be picked up the following season, the Panthers shelled out $18,858,000 to Darnold.
Battling and losing to QB Baker Mayfield in the 2022 offseason, Darnold finally strung together some decent outputs late in the season when Mayfield went down with an injury, grinding out four wins to only two losses. He also nearly totaled his passing touchdowns from the season before in only half the games played.
This production caught the eyes of other teams around the league as Darnold could be useful as a cheap and young plug-and-play piece. Specifically, the San Francisco 49ers had interest, and he eventually backed up young star Brock Purdy last season after the 49ers cleaned house in their backup QB room, dealing Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo.
He was granted a one-year deal worth $4.5 million and $1.5 million as a signing bonus. He did perform well in the sparing moments that he caught action in 2023.
Fast forward to the present day, Darnold has found himself a starter again, signed by Minnesota for one year with a contract worth $10 million and $6.25 million upon signing. After rookie J.J. McCarthy went down with a season-ending injury, Darnold was locked in as the team’s starter for this year.
Since then, he hasn’t looked back as he has kept the Vikings competitive in a very tough NFC North division.
Darnold’s Career Earnings and Net Worth
When his 2024 contract is up, Darnold will have earned $65,253,948 from his NFL contracts, according to Spotrac, with $27,828,338 earned as signing bonuses. It has been reported that his net worth has reached over $30 million.
Darnold has also partnered with companies and made public investments. In his rookie year, he partnered with KonaRed Hawaiian Coffee and publicly invested in Therabody for athlete recovery in 2021.
Darnold has made very good money from the NFL, from being a top pick to now earning respectable money in Minneapolis. Time (and his play) will tell if he will continue to cash these nice checks.