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3 months ago: Kansas City Chiefs quarter Matt Cassel, right, greets his mother Barbara Cassel, left, and sister Amanda Cassel before the start of practice during NFL football training camp in River Falls, Wis., Saturday, Aug. 1, 2009. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

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Who were the NFL's two most cost-effective quarterbacks last year? According to Portfolio.com, Kansas City Chiefs QBs Matt Cassel and Tyler Thigpen.

Portfolio.com/bizjournals analyzed the cost-effectiveness of all 36 NFL players who threw at least 160 passes during the 2008 regular season. The highest scores went to quarterbacks, such as Cassel, who delivered big results on the field while drawing relatively small salaries.

Each quarterback’s salary cap value, defined as his base salary plus prorated bonuses, was matched against his performances in four statistical categories: completions, yards, touchdowns, and interceptions. (Salary-cap values are annually collected and reported by USA Today.)

And Cassel and Thigpen weren't just the top two by a small margin. They blew away the #3 most cost-effective QB, Trent Edwards of the Buffalo Bills:

Cassel and Tyler Thigpen of the Kansas City Chiefs emerged as the NFL’s two most cost-effective quarterbacks. They earned 6.79 and 6.00 points, respectively on the analysis. Trent Edwards of the Buffalo Bills was a distant third with 2.56 points.

Now, with Matt Cassel's recent $60+ million dollar contract, he won't be the most cost-effective QB this year but it's still nice to have a statistical value to put next to the 2008 Tyler Thigpen.