With annual revenue of $16 billion, the NFL is the most profitable sports league in the world. This means that there are a lot of wealthy people within the ranks of the league, including players who sign lucrative contracts to play for a franchise. Looking at the average annual salary of each athlete, we rank the highest-paid players in the NFL.
Because quarterbacks have the most important role on the football field as a team’s victory largely depends on their performance, they make up any list of the highest players in the sport.There are however others in other positions who earn a significant salary. As a result, we have come up with two different lists, one for QBs and another for non-QBs.
Highest Paid NFL Players (Quarterbacks)
1. Patrick Mahomes
- Annual Salary:$45 million
- Team: Kansas City Chiefs
Patrick Mahomes was selected 10th overall by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2017 NFL Draft. A few years later, he led the Chiefs to their first Super Bowl appearance in 50 years (Super Bowl LIV) where they defeated the San Francisco 49ers. He would then go on to sign the second-largest known contract in sporting history, a ten-year deal worth $477 million that made him the highest-paid player in the NFL.
2. Josh Allen
- Annual Salary: $43 million
- Team: Buffalo Bills
Josh Allen was selected by the Bills with the seventh overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. He has brought consecutive division titles to the franchise and became the first NFL quarterback to have a touchdown-scoring drive on every offensive possession of a game. After his initial four-year, $21 million contract in 2018, he signed a six-year contract extension worth up to $258 million.
3. Dak Prescott
- Annual Salary: $40 million
- Team: Dallas Cowboys
Dak Prescott was selected by the Cowboys with the 135th overall pick of the 2016 NFL Draft. He was supposed to be a backup to starter Tony Romo but Romo’s injury that year gave him a chance to start and he embraced it. In 2021, the Cowboys rewarded his performances with a four-year contract extension worth $160 million.
4. Deshaun Watson
- Annual Salary: $39 million
- Team: Houston Texans
https://www.instagram.com/p/CERdbnAB8eb/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
The Houston Texans drafted Watson with the 12th overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft. He guided his team to consecutive division titles in 2018 and 2019 and led the league in passing yards in 2020. That year, he put pen to paper on a four-year, $177.5 million contract extension.
5. Russell Wilson
- Annual Salary: $35 million
- Team: Seattle Seahawks
Russell Wilson has proved many analysts wrong with the success he has enjoyed in the league. He was selected by the Seahawks with the 75th overall pick of the 2012 NFL Draft. He later guided his team to victory at Super Bowl XLVIII, gaining a reputation as one of the greatest dual-threat quarterbacks in NFL history.
In 2019, Wilson was the highest-paid player in the NFL after he signed a four-year, $140 million contract extension. Others have since signed more lucrative contracts.
6. Aaron Rodgers
- Annual Salary: $33.5 million
- Team: Green Bay Packers
Aaron Rodgers was selected by the Packers with the 24th overall pick of the 2005 NFL Draft. He served as a backup to Brett Favre for three years before becoming his team’s starting quarterback in 2008. In 2010, he led them to a victory in Super Bowl XLV.
Rodgers was the highest-paid player in NFL history in 2013 when he signed a five-year $110 million contract extension. In 2018, he extended his stay with the team by signing a four-year extension worth $134 million.
7. Jared Goff
- Annual Salary: $33.5 million
- Team: Detroit Lions
Jared Goff was the first overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams. In his sophomore year, he led the team to their first winning season in 14 years. The progress carried on into his third season as he helped the franchise to its first Super Bowl appearance since 2001. These performances culminated in him signing a four-year extension worth $134 million. He was, however, later traded to the Detroit Lions in 2021 after a dip in production.
8. Kirk Cousins
- Annual Salary: $33 million
- Team: Minnesota Vikings
Kirk Cousins was drafted by the Washington Redskins with the 102nd overall pick of the 2012 NFL Draft. He set numerous franchise records with the team before leaving in 2018 as a free agent to sign a three-year US$84 million contract with the Minnesota Vikings. In 2020, he signed a two-year, $66 million contract extension.
9. Carson Wentz
- Annual Salary:$32 million
- Team:Indianapolis Colts
The Philadelphia Eagles selected Carson Wentz with the second overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. While injury hampered his appearance in the postseason, he played a significant role in his team going on to win its first Super Bowl title at Super Bowl LII. More injuries and a drop in performances meant that Wentz was traded to the Indianapolis Colts in 2020. Before the trade, however, he signed a four-year, $128 million contract extension.
10. Matt Ryan
- Annual Salary:$30 million
- Team:Atlanta Falcons
Matt Ryan has been with the Falcons since the team drafted him with the third overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft. In 2016, he won the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award as he led his team to Super Bowl LI which they lost. By 2018, he became the first player to make at least $30 million per year when he signed a five-year, $150 million contract.
Highest Paid NFL Players (Non-Quarterback)
1. Joey Bosa
- Annual Salary: $27 million
- Team: Los Angeles Chargers
- Position: Defensive End/Outside Linebacker
Son of former NFL player John Bosa and the older brother of current NFL player Nick Bosa, Joey became the highest-paid defensive player in the league when he signed a five-year, $135 million contract extension with the Chargers.
2. DeMarcus Lawrence
- Annual Salary: $21 million
- Team: Dallas Cowboys
- Position: Defensive End
DeMarcus Lawrence was drafted by the Cowboys with the 34th overall pick of the 2014 NFL Draft. In 2019, a year after he received his second pro Bowl invitation, he became the then highest-paid defensive end in the NFL as he put pen to paper on a five-year, $105 million contract
3. Frank Clark
- Annual Salary: $20.8 million
- Team: Kansas City Chiefs
- Position: Defensive End
Clark was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the 2015 NFL Draft but he currently plays for the Chiefs with whom he won Super Bowl LIV. Prior to the victory, he signed a five-year contract worth $105.5 million
4. Amari Cooper
- Annual Salary: $20,000,000
- Team: Dallas Cowboys
- Position: Wide Receiver
Amari Cooper was one of the top prospects of the 2015 NFL Draft. He was eventually selected by the Oakland Raiders with the fourth overall pick. In 2018, he was traded to the Cowboys and he signed a five-year contract extension worth $100 million.
5. Von Miller
- Annual Salary: $19 million
- Team: Los Angeles Rams
- Position: Outside Linebacker
Von Miller was drafted by the Denver Broncos with the second overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. Years later, he won Super Bowl 50 and was named Super Bowl MVP. The following year, he signed a six-year, $114,100,000 contract with the team but he has since been traded to the LA Rams.
6. Brandon Scherff
- Annual Salary: $18 million
- Team: Washington Football Team
- Position: Guard
For the past two years, Brandon Scherff has been signing one-year contracts with the Washington Football Team. In 2021, he signed an extension worth $18,036,000.
7. Trey Flowers
- Annual Salary: $18 million
- Team: Detroit Lions
- Position: Defensive End
Trey Flowers spent a few years with the New England Patriots before joining the Detroit Lions in 2019. His time with the Patriots saw him win two Super Bowls. After joining the Lions in 2019, he signed a five-year, $90 million deal.
8. Fletcher Cox
- Annual Salary: $17.1 million
- Team: Philadelphia Eagles
- Position: Defensive Tackle
Fletcher Cox was drafted 12th overall by the Eagles in the 2012 NFL Draft. He became a Super Bowl champion with the side and in 2016 signed a six-year, $103 million contract extension.
9. Grady Jarrett
- Annual Salary: $17 million
- Team: Atlanta Falcons
- Position: Defensive Tackle
Following in his father’s footsteps, Grady Jarrett plays for the Atlanta Falcons who drafted him with the 137th pick in 2015. In 2019, he became the third highest-paid defensive tackle player in the NFL when he signed a four-year contract extension worth $68 million.
10. Chandler Jones
- Annual Salary: $16.5 million
- Team: Arizona Cardinals
- Position: Outside Linebacker
A year after winning Super Bowl XLIX with the New England Patriots who drafted him with the 21 overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft, Jones joined the Cardinals. In 2017, he signed a five-year, $82.5 million contract extension