Since the CBA created the new contract structure in 2011, here's the breakdown for playoff appreances vs amount spent at QB

1) 45% of all playoff teams had a starting QB on a cheap rookie cap hit

2) 34% rostered a QB with a top-10 cap hit

3) 3% had both

4) 20% had neither

The average number of teams with a top 10 QB cap hit to make the playoffs in any given year was 4.1.

Which means 40% of teams in any given year that had an expensive QB actually made it work well enough to translate to post season appearances, let along actual postseason wins.

Furthermore the only teams to make the playoffs at least 3 times in the last decade with a highly paid QB were the Saints, Steelers, Falcons, Broncos, & Packers.

So basically if you have a HoF and/or MVP-winning quarterback, sure you can make it work.

If you don't, good luck.