What this is
Spotrac shows the numbers. The Athletic writes the narrative. Neither gives you the full economic picture of a modern professional athlete — the contract cap-hit, the endorsement portfolio, the team-ownership stakes, the operating businesses, the family-enterprise architecture, and the practitioner analytical layer that says what it all means. The Baratelli Institute's The Player Reference reference is that missing product.
Every athlete page is built to a common standard: comprehensive, sourced, structured for cross-comparison, and analyzed through the Institute's practitioner framework. Every page carries an "As of" date and a "Next refresh due" date so readers always know how current the data is. Every claim is sourced to a public disclosure. Every analytical read is labeled as an Institute editorial view rather than raw data.
Comprehensive by design
Not a summary. Every reference page covers contract history and every restructure, year-by-year cash and cap, career cash-versus-cap analysis, endorsement portfolio, ownership stakes, business ventures, real estate, foundation, family-enterprise architecture, state-tax analysis, and historical comparisons.
Attribution preserved
Contract data sourced from Spotrac and Over The Cap. Endorsement estimates from Sportico. Ownership disclosures from Bloomberg, WSJ, and SEC filings. Foundation data from IRS 990 filings via ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. Real estate from county records. Every source cited on every page.
Practitioner analytical layer
Institute framework layered on top of the raw data — guarantee percentage, cap-manipulation index, dead-cap risk exposure, contract archetype, family-enterprise complexity index, career-arc projection, and historical comparisons. The analytical value-add nobody else provides.
Free, always
No paywall. No signup. No advertising. Practitioner-grade reference on every notable NFL and NBA contract, updated quarterly, published for the reader who wants to understand modern athlete economics — media, financial advisors, family-office practitioners, agents, general fans, or serious sports podcasters.
Flagship references — available now
The first flagship page is Patrick Mahomes — the reference case chosen because he combines the most-covered on-field profile in the NFL with one of the most sophisticated off-field enterprise architectures in modern professional sports.
What's coming — the reference roadmap
The Institute is building comprehensive flagship references on every notable NFL and NBA contract. Starting NFL quarterbacks come first because they drive the most media coverage and represent the highest-value citation universe. Each page mirrors the Mahomes and Kelce standard: 13-15 sections of practitioner-grade coverage, sourced and organized, quarterly refresh.
NFL Starting Quarterbacks — Wave 1 build queue (32 flagships)
The full roster of NFL starting QBs, being built at the Mahomes/Kelce standard. AFC then NFC. Each flagship follows the same structure: executive snapshot, contract history, career cash-and-cap analysis, endorsement portfolio, ownership stakes, business ventures, family enterprise architecture, state tax analysis, historical comparisons, Institute framework, sources.
AFC EAST
Josh Allen (BUF) · Tua Tagovailoa (MIA) · Drake Maye (NE) · Aaron Rodgers or successor (NYJ)
Allen next in build queue — the rising-market extension archetype with aggressive void-year use.
AFC NORTH
Lamar Jackson (BAL) · Joe Burrow (CIN) · Deshaun Watson (CLE) · Russell Wilson (PIT)
Burrow, Jackson, Watson (100% guaranteed teaching lesson), and Wilson (trade-and-extend cautionary tale).
AFC SOUTH
Anthony Richardson (IND) · Trevor Lawrence (JAX) · C.J. Stroud (HOU) · Will Levis or successor (TEN)
Rising-generation QBs at various points in career-arc.
AFC WEST
Patrick Mahomes (KC) ✓ · Justin Herbert (LAC) · Bo Nix (DEN) · Aidan O'Connell or successor (LV)
Mahomes complete. Herbert next in AFC West queue — the position-defining Chargers extension.
NFC EAST
Dak Prescott (DAL) · Jayden Daniels (WAS) · Jalen Hurts (PHI) · Daniel Jones or successor (NYG)
Hurts extension is a signature NFC East market-setting deal.
NFC NORTH
Jordan Love (GB) · Caleb Williams (CHI) · Sam Darnold or successor (MIN) · Jared Goff (DET)
Goff extension is the position-defining Lions market reset. Williams is the highest-drafted quarterback of the current generation.
NFC SOUTH
Michael Penix Jr. (ATL) · Bryce Young (CAR) · Derek Carr (NO) · Baker Mayfield (TB)
Mayfield extension is one of the more instructive contract-value-reset stories in the NFL.
NFC WEST
Brock Purdy (SF) · Kyler Murray (ARI) · Matthew Stafford (LAR) · Sam Darnold or Geno Smith (SEA)
Purdy's contract situation is the most-watched extension in the NFL through 2026.
Career-tail family-enterprise flagships
CAREER-TAIL
Travis Kelce (KC TE) ✓
The career-end wealth transition archetype. LIVE.
QUEUED
Aaron Rodgers · Tom Brady legacy pages · Russell Wilson full profile
Career-end template case studies for players near or at retirement.
Non-QB position leaders
WAVE 2
T.J. Watt · Nick Bosa · Myles Garrett · Micah Parsons
EDGE market position-defining deals.
WAVE 2
Justin Jefferson · CeeDee Lamb · Ja'Marr Chase · A.J. Brown
WR market position-defining deals.
NBA Wave 1 — the max-contract superstars
NBA WAVE 1
Stephen Curry · Luka Doncic · Nikola Jokic · Joel Embiid · Giannis Antetokounmpo · LeBron James
NBA supermax and max-extension contracts. Different schema (no franchise tag; guaranteed contracts default; supermax mechanics).
The Institute Entertainer Reference — companion series
NEW SERIES
Tom Cruise · Taylor Swift · Madonna · Leonardo DiCaprio
Same practitioner-grade framework applied to entertainers. Production company deals, back-end participation, catalog values, business ventures, real estate portfolios, philanthropy, and family enterprise architecture. The Institute Entertainer Reference — companion product to The Player Reference.
The Institute's analytical framework
Every flagship reference applies the Institute's analytical framework on top of the raw data. Six frameworks organize the analysis:
1. The Contract Archetype Ladder
Categorization of every contract into one of seven archetypes: rookie scale, veteran minimum, standard veteran extension, position-defining mega-deal, fully-guaranteed benchmark, trade + extension hybrid, and cautionary tale. Enables instant cross-comparison across the reference set.
2. The Guarantee Percentage
Total guaranteed dollars divided by total contract value. Top contracts hit 90%+; team-friendly deals hit 30-40%. At-a-glance sense of player-side protection.
3. The Cap-Manipulation Index
Institute-proprietary score for how heavily a contract relies on void years, restructures, and signing-bonus prorations to defer cap hits. High-manipulation contracts create larger dead-cap exposures if released early.
4. The Family Enterprise Complexity Index
How diversified and coordinated is the family enterprise? Single-stream (contract only) through five-stream+ (contract + endorsements + operating businesses + ownership stakes + foundation as strategic vehicle). Mahomes is the five-stream archetype.
5. The Ownership Arc
Whether the athlete is converting current cash into appreciating ownership stakes during playing career. Metrics: number of positions, diversification, proportional stake size, home-market alignment, structural transition timing.
6. The State Tax Overlay
Effective state-tax analysis based on team domicile plus jock-tax exposure across the season schedule. Multi-state comparisons show the material after-tax impact of team location and post-playing domicile planning.
Data sources — attribution preserved
Contract data: Spotrac (spotrac.com) public dashboard. Over The Cap (overthecap.com) contract detail. Team salary cap statements. NFLPA and NBPA public filings. Restructure detail from Adam Schefter, Field Yates, Ian Rapoport, Albert Breer public reporting.
Endorsement estimates: Sportico annual endorsement rankings. Forbes highest-paid athletes lists. The Athletic and ESPN business coverage.
Ownership disclosures: Bloomberg and WSJ ownership coverage. SEC filings for public-market positions and activist stakes. League public disclosures at ownership-group closings.
Business ventures: Public brand announcements. State Secretary of State LLC registries. Trade press coverage.
Foundation data: IRS Form 990 public filings via ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer (propublica.org/nonprofits). Foundation websites.
Real estate: County recorder public property records.
State tax analysis: State department of revenue publications. Standard jock-tax methodology.
Institute analytical framework: Baratelli Institute's Athlete's Wealth Playbook, Family Office Reference Guide, State Tax Optimizer, and CFO & Controller's Guide.
Where this connects to the rest of the Institute
Related Institute products
The comprehensive practitioner guide on athlete family enterprise, from rookie-year planning through post-playing wealth transition. The framework applied on every flagship page.
The Institute's flagship reference on family-office structure, entity architecture, multi-generational planning, and CFO-seat coordination.
Interactive tool showing after-tax take-home comparisons across all 32 NFL / 30 NBA teams by state-tax jurisdiction.
Institute case studies on sports business — the Bucks / Fiserv cross-vertical, ownership economics, franchise valuation.