Some of them are? Cardinals were in the NFCCG only a year ago. Luck had 3 straight years of 10+ wins and playoff runs, with one AFCCG game appearance before he got a little banged up.
Brees isn't in the playoffs every year due to horrible team building, not his annual salary.
Derek Carr was a SB contender last year and an MVP candidate.
I think if you think TT + $15M is better than Drew Brees who is a for sure Hall of Famer who threw 5,200 yards and 37 TD's last year, then I don't know what to say, really.
Taking Carr wouldn't have "pulled the plug" on EJ. It would have given us another prospect to develop when EJ faltered, like he did.