Who are the highest-paid NFL players? Start your free trial with Fubo and watch some of them, along with your favorite players.
The Highest-Paid Football Players
Who are the NFL’s highest-paid players at every position? In 2022, multiple players reset the market and a few more record-setting deals have already been made in 2023.
NFL teams are increasingly rewarding their best players since the salary cap is climbing. The best-paid NFL positions are quarterbacks and the worst-paid are special teams. Just this offseason the two biggest contracts have been for quarterbacks Jalen Hurts and Lamar Jackson.
SUBSCRIBE TODAY: Fubo is your home for the 2023 NFL Season!
The Top-Paid NFL Players in 2023
All but one of the Top 15 paid players is a quarterback. Defensive tackle Aaron Donald is the lone exception.
1. Lamar Jackson: QB, Ravens ($52 million)
Jackson’s contract, which was signed in April, was a five-year, $260 million deal. Jackson’s contract will include $185 million in guarantees — good for the second-most in NFL history. When on the field, the 2019 MVP has earned a high payday. It’s just a matter of him staying healthy. He has missed five games in each of the last two seasons due to a variety of injuries. Jackson threw for 2,242 yards, 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 2022. He added 764 yards and three touchdowns on the ground in his 12 starts.
2. Jalen Hurts: QB, Eagles ($51 million)
After a remarkable Super Bowl performance, the Eagles rewarded Hurts will a five-year, $255 million deal. Hurts’ contract will include $179.3 million in guaranteed money. Hurts, 24, completed 66.5 percent of his passes for 3,701 yards and 22 touchdowns to six interceptions during the 2022 regular season. He also rushed for 760 yards and another 13 scores.
3. Aaron Rodgers: QB, Packers ($50.3 million)
The 2023 season will be a new start for the 39-year-old Rodgers, who was traded to the Jets after his tenure with the Packers. After winning back-to-back MVPs, Rodgers signed a three-year, $150.8 million contract with $101.5 million guaranteed. Rodgers took a step back last season. He completed 64.6 percent of his passes for 3,695 yards, 26 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while leading the Packers to an 8-9 record.
4. Russell Wilson: QB, Broncos ($48.5 million)
Right after the Broncos traded for Wilson before the start of the 2022 season they signed him to a massive five-year, $245 million contract extension. However, the first year didn’t go well, as Denver was 4-11 in his starts and Wilson completed a career-low 60.5 percent of his passes, for 3,524 yards, 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
5. Kyler Murray, QB: Cardinals ($46.1 million)
The Cardinals signed Murray to a five-year, $230.5 million contract extension to stay with the team, with $160 million being guaranteed. The Cardinals were 3-8 in his starts, and Murray posted a career-worst 87.2 passer rating before suffering a torn ACL against the Patriots.
6. Deshaun Watson: QB, Browns ($46 million)
Watson got a fully guaranteed $230 million contract from the Browns after being traded from the Texans. However, he played just six games during the 2022 NFL season because of a league suspension. He completed just 58.2 percent of his passes for 1,102 yards, seven touchdowns and five interceptions, as the Browns went 3-3 in those six games.
7. Patrick Mahomes: QB, Chiefs ($45 million)
In 2020 Mahomes signed a 10-year extension worth $477 million with another $26 million in potential bonuses for a total of $503 million. Mahomes is fresh off his second Super Bowl title. He won his second MVP award in 2022 after posting 5,250 yards, 41 touchdowns and 12 interceptions even without Tyreek Hill.
8. Josh Allen: QB, Bills ($43 million)
Allen signed a six-year contract extension worth up to $258 million with $150 million guaranteed before the start of the 2021 season. In the MVP conversation in 2022, Allen completed 63.3 percent of his passes for 4,238 yards, 35 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, while adding 762 yards and seven scores on the ground.
T-9. Matthew Stafford: QB, Rams ($40 million)
After winning the Super Bowl in 2021, Stafford signed a four-year, $160 million extension with the Rams in 2022. During the season he was placed into the NFL concussion protocol twice. The 35-year-old led the Rams to a 3-6 record in nine starts in 2022, while completing 68 percent of his passes.
T-9. Dak Prescott: QB, Cowboys ($40 million)
In 2021, Prescott signed a four-year contract extension with the Cowboys for $160 million, with $126 million guaranteed. The deal included a $66 million signing bonus, the highest in NFL history at the time.
T-9. Daniel Jones: QB, Giants ($40 million)
This offseason Jones signed a four-year, $160 million contract extension with the Giants. Jones is coming off a breakout season that saw him complete 67.2 percent of his passes for 3,205 yards, 15 touchdowns and five interceptions, while running for 708 yards and seven touchdowns. He led the Giants to a Wild Card playoff win against the Minnesota Vikings.
12. Derek Carr: QB, Saints ($37.5 million)
Carr agreed to a four-year, $150 million deal with the Saints after being released by the Raiders. Carr will hope to bounce back after a down year in which he completed just 60.8 percent of his passes and matched his career-high with 14 interceptions.
13. Kirk Cousins: QB, Vikings ($35 million)
Cousins has been among the highest-paid quarterbacks since joining the Vikings as a free agent five years ago. He has a one-year, $35 million fully guaranteed contract for the 2023 season. He has been consistently productive for Minnesota, averaging 4,448 yards, 33 touchdowns and 11 interceptions per 17 games played with the team.
14. Jared Goff: QB, Lions ($33.5 million)
In 2019 Goff signed a four-year extension worth $134 million with the Rams, featuring $110 million guaranteed. Goff, who was traded to the Lions in March 2021, completed 65.1 percent of his passes for 4,438 yards, 29 touchdowns and a career-low seven interceptions last season.
15. Aaron Donald: DT, Rams ($31.7 million)
The Rams announced in June 2022 that they had re-negotiated Donald’s existing contract extension that was signed in 2018. The deal, which added $40 million over the last three years of the original six-year, $135 million deal, made Donald the first non-quarterback to average more than $30 million per season.
SUBSCRIBE TODAY: Fubo is your home for the 2023 NFL Season!
The Highest Paid Players of All-Time
Even though there are many high-paid NFL players in 2023, they are not the highest-paid players of all-time. Here are the Top 5:
1. Tom Brady, QB ($332.9 million)
During his 23-year career, Brady’s highest annual salary came in 2021, in which he earned $39.4 million with the Buccaneers. Brady compiled a career record of 251-82, winning a remarkable seven Super Bowls.
2. Aaron Rodgers, QB ($305.6 million)
Throughout his 18 seasons in the NFL, Rodgers’ most lucrative season came in 2018 when he earned $66.9 million. He’ll lead the New York Jets in 2023, after an offseason trade ended his long reign in Green Bay.
3. Matthew Stafford, QB ($300.8 million)
After winning the Super Bowl in 2021 with the Rams, the 14-year veteran signed a new contract and earned a career-high $61.5 million in 2022. Not bad for a QB with a career losing record (89-101-1).
4. Matt Ryan, QB ($291.7 million)
During his 15 seasons in the NFL, Ryan’s highest earning season came in 2019, when he earned $44.7 million. Perhaps most known for blowing big playoff leads, Ryan has been a solid pro, amazing 62,792 passing yards, good for No. 7 all-time.
5. Drew Brees, QB ($269.7 million)
During his 20 seasons in the NFL, Brees’ highest earning season came in 2012, when he earned $40 million. The former Super Bowl champion led the NFL in passing yards seven different times, finishing his career with 80,358 yards, good for second all-time.
Watch Your Favorite NFL Players
Want to watch all the best current NFL stars? Then make sure you’re subscribed to Fubo, which gives you access to all nationally televised NFL games as well as regional coverage during the season and the NFL RedZone Channel.
Fubo is the leading sports-first live TV streaming platform, offering 100+ live TV channels and regional sports networks. The service includes a DVR as well as on-demand content and focuses on sports programming. Fubo is the only live TV streaming platform with every Nielsen-rated sports channel. Leveraging Fubo’s proprietary data and technology platform optimized for live TV and sports viewership, subscribers can engage with the content they are watching through interactive product features like FanView, an in-video experience showcasing live game, team and player stats and scores in real-time. Fubo was also the first virtual MVPD to enable simultaneous viewing on up to four screens (Multiview on Apple TV) and the first to stream in 4K HDR. The service was ranked #1 in Customer Satisfaction among Live TV Streaming Providers by J.D. Power (2022).
SUBSCRIBE TODAY: Fubo is your home for the 2023 NFL Season!
