The Arizona Cardinals and veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett settled their contract dispute Sunday, ending a holdout that kept him from full participation in training camp. Head coach Mike LaFleur confirmed the agreement and said the plan is for Brissett to be the team's starter when the regular season opens Sept. 13.
“The plan is to get this offense as good as we can be and peaking at the right time for him to be the starter on September 13, yes,” LaFleur said.
The reworked deal does not add any seasons to Brissett’s contract; he remains scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency after the 2026 season. Financially, the move represents a sizeable boost compared with his previous compensation. Multiple reports say the new arrangement provides $15.5 million in guaranteed money, with performance incentives that could raise his total well above $20 million.
What changed on the ledger
Before the revision, Brissett earned a base salary of $4.9 million plus a $1.8 million prorated signing bonus, and his cap charge was widely reported at roughly $9.2 million — substantially lower than most veteran starters. For comparison, Daniel Jones carries a cap hit of about $19.2 million with his team.
| Item | Before | After (reported) |
|---|---|---|
| Guaranteed money | Not specified | $15.5M |
| Base salary | $4.9M | Not disclosed |
| Signing bonus (prorated) | $1.8M | Not disclosed |
| Cap hit | $9.2M (report) | Not yet public |
Team officials have not publicly released the exact cap charge that will appear on this season’s ledger. NFL salary cap accounting is complex and the Cardinals’ numbers will affect future roster decisions: unused cap space rolls into the following year, and any increased charge for Brissett will reduce the club’s projected flexibility for 2027. Arizona had been estimated to have a league-high $119.1 million in effective cap space for 2027, a figure that could decline as extensions and adjustments are finalized.
Local impact and preparation
For coaches and teammates, the immediate benefit is returning focus to on-field work. Brissett missed full-team drills during the first two full days of camp; the plan is for him to rejoin the rest of the offense after the Cardinals’ scheduled off day Tuesday, July 28. That will allow LaFleur and offensive staff to accelerate installation of game plans and improve timing with receivers and the line.
- Starter certainty: Brissett now enters camp as the presumptive Week 1 starter.
- Roster planning: The new deal narrows short-term uncertainty but does not lock the Cardinals into a long-term answer at quarterback.
- Cap considerations: Increased guarantees and incentives could reduce projected 2027 cap room and influence future extensions.
From a broader perspective, the move buys Arizona time to evaluate its quarterback depth chart and offensive direction while giving Brissett a clearer runway to get up to speed in Mike LaFleur’s system. How long he holds the starting job and whether the club pursues a long-term successor will be questions tied to performance and roster choices as the season unfolds.
The agreement closes a high-profile impasse and shifts attention back to practice fields in the Phoenix area and to the Cardinals’ early-season schedule. For now, the team will try to turn stability at the position into on-field progress.
