There are more than 32 quarterbacks in the National Football League, once you factor in the backups and those teams that have ‘quarterback battles’, but only one can come away with the Vince Lombardi Trophy each year.

And when it comes to quarterbacks, winning a Super Bowl can mean an awful lot to what happens to their overall legacy in the game, where they are seen amongst the great ones that have gone before them and will come after them in the sport. 

Take Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino for instance, who retired holding over 40 NFL records including completions, passing yards and touchdown passes and had every right to be considered one of the greatest of all time, but without that Super Bowl ring around his finger, was never thrown into the same category as the likes of Joe Montana who had four of them.

And for a more modern example, look to Green Bay and Aaron Rodgers, who through both his skillset and accomplishments - including 4 NFL MVP awards and the best touchdown to interception ratio in NFL history - has seen himself become a challenger in some people’s eyes to Tom Brady as the best to ever play the position.  

But with just one ring to his name from 2010, it’s hard to put up as strong an argument, when a couple more of them might substantiate it a bit more. 

So with that question in mind, which quarterbacks really need a Super Bowl ring this year in order to cement their legacy, which ones can spare a year away without winning it, and which men will be fine either way.

Using Tiermaker.com, we have split the big-name quarterbacks of the NFL - which is a subjective list, but for the sake of this argument, there’s no need to drag the likes of Drew Lock or Davis Mills into this for instance - into one of three categories on how well their career legacies would be defined with a ring this year:

Totally desperate:

Need a ring arguably as much as they need oxygen to breathe

Would be nice:

It could have an impact on their legacy, but it’s not something that would define them

Legacy secured:

Standing wouldn’t change at all if they won or not

And as with most things, Brady gets his own special segment. So with that established, here is our tier ranking list ahead of the 2022 NFL season:

Totally desperate: Mitch Trubisky, Jameis Winston, Matt Ryan, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Carson Wentz, Baker Mayfield, Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes

Would be nice: Jared Goff, Justin Herbert, Jimmy Garoppolo, Russell Wilson, Kyler Murray, Kirk Cousins, Derek Carr, Mac Jones, Joe Burrow, Dak Prescott

Legacy secured: Matt Stafford, Ryan Tannehill