Who Gets Paid The Most In The NFL?
We all know that professional athletes get paid a lot of money. But just how much do they make? And who gets paid the most?
In this blog post, we’ll take a look at the highest-paid player in the NFL and see just how much money they’re making.
Quarterbacks
In the NFL, quarterbacks are paid the most among all other positions. This is because the quarterback is the most important position on the field and is responsible for the majority of the game play. The average salary for an NFL quarterback is $2.5 million per year.
Russell Wilson- $35 million
Russell Wilson is the quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks. He is one of the highest paid quarterbacks in the NFL, making an annual salary of $35 million. Wilson has led the Seahawks to six playoff appearances and one Super Bowl victory.
Aaron Rodgers- $33.5 million
As the starting quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, Aaron Rodgers is one of the most recognizable names in football. He’s also one of the highest-paid, with an annual salary of $33.5 million. That’s almost double what his nearest competitor, Matthew Stafford of the Detroit Lions, earns at $27 million per year.
Rodgers’ salary is so high, in fact, that it’s more than what some entire NFL teams pay their players. The Miami Dolphins, for example, have a team salary cap of just over $196 million. That means that if you took all 53 of their players’ salaries and added them together, it would still be less than what Rodgers earns on his own.
Of course, not all NFL teams are as frugal as the Dolphins. The New York Jets have a salary cap of $246 million, which means they can afford to pay their players a little bit more. In fact, they have two quarterbacks who make more money than Rodgers: Josh McCown at $10 million and Teddy Bridgewater at $6 million.
But even with those two higher-paid quarterbacks on the roster, the Jets still don’t come close to matching what Rodgers makes in a single season. So whether you’re a fan of the Packers or not, there’s no denying that Aaron Rodgers is making bank as one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in NFL history.
Ben Roethlisberger- $33 million
Big Ben Roethlisberger is the highest-paid player in the NFL, as of September 2020. He is currently in the 2nd year of his 4-year, $87.4 million contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers. This contract includes a $37 million signing bonus and an average annual salary of $33 million. In 2019, he earned a base salary of $15 million and a roster bonus of $2 million. He will earn a base salary of $19 million in 2020.
Running Backs
In the National Football League, the running backs are the players who line up behind the offensive line. They are typically the shortest and lightest players on the field. Running backs are responsible for carrying the ball on running plays and may also be used as receivers on passing plays.
Ezekiel Elliott- $15 million
As of September 2019, Ezekiel Elliott is the highest-paid running back in the NFL, with an annual salary of $15 million. This makes him the sixth highest-paid player in the league overall. Elliott is currently in the fourth year of his rookie contract, which is set to run through 2020. He has already made $34.5 million so far in his career, and his total earnings are expected to exceed $100 million by the time his contract expires.
Le’Veon Bell- $13.1 million
Le’Veon Bell is a professional American football player who plays running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Steelers in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft. As of September 2018, Bell has amassed 5,336 rushing yards and 35 rushing touchdowns, along with 2,660 receiving yards and 11 receiving touchdowns in his six NFL seasons.
Todd Gurley- $12.5 million
Todd Gurley is an American football running back for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Rams with the tenth overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. He played college football at Georgia.
In his rookie season, Gurley rushed for 1,106 yards and 10 touchdowns and was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. In 2017, he was named NFL Offensive Player of the Year after gaining 2,093 total yards from scrimmage and 19 touchdowns.
Gurley signed a four-year, $60 million contract extension with the Rams in 2018 that made him the highest-paid running back in NFL history at that time.
Wide Receivers
Who gets paid the most in the NFL? The answer may surprise you. It’s not the quarterback, nor the running back. It’s actually the wide receiver. Wide receivers have some of the highest salaries in the NFL. In fact, the top 10 highest-paid players in the NFL are all wide receivers.
Antonio Brown- $17 million
Antonio Brown is a wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He is currently the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL, earning an annual salary of $17 million. Brown was drafted by the Steelers in 2010 and has played for the team his entire career. He is a four-time Pro Bowl selection and was named First Team All-Pro in 2014 and 2015.
DeAndre Hopkins- $16.2 million
In 2018, the average NFL salary was $2.7 million. The median salary for all players was $860,000. These figures include all players, not just wide receivers.
The highest-paid wide receiver in the league is DeAndre Hopkins of the Houston Texans. His 2018 salary is $16.2 million. The second-highest-paid receiver is Mike Evans of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who will make $16.5 million in 2018.
The third-highest-paid wide receiver is A.J. Green of the Cincinnati Bengals, who will make $15 million in 2018. The fourth-highest-paid receiver is Julio Jones of the Atlanta Falcons, who will make $14.25 million in 2018.
Julio Jones- $15.3 million
Receivers: Julio Jones, $15.3 million
The Seahawks decided they didn’t need Percy Harvin’s salary on the books, and his contract was restructured last offseason. Instead, Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse have stepped up as Wilson’s go-to targets. The Seahawks also have a talented group of tight ends led by Jimmy Graham, who was signed to a four-year, $40 million deal last offseason.
Defensive Players
There’s no doubt that quarterbacks are the face of the NFL, but they don’t necessarily take home the biggest paycheck. In fact, defensive players are often the highest-paid players in the league. So, who are the highest-paid defensive players in the NFL?
Khalil Mack- $23.5 million
Khalil Mack is a linebacker for the Chicago Bears. He previously played for the Oakland Raiders, where he was a first-team All-Pro selection three times and was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2016. Mack signed a six-year, $141 million extension with the Bears in 2018 that made him the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history.
Von Miller- $19 million
Von Miller is an outside linebacker for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Broncos second overall in the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football at Texas A&M, where he earned consensus All-American honors and was awarded the Butkus Award as the most outstanding collegiate linebacker in the nation.
In his first season with the Broncos, Miller was named AP Defensive Rookie of the Year and finished second behind only Aldon Smith for sacks among rookies with 11.5 sacks. In 2012, he led the NFL with 18.5 sacks, tied teammate Elvis Dumervil’s franchise record set in 2009, and was elected to his first Pro Bowl and named First-Team All-Pro. The following year, he recorded 14.0 sacks and forced six fumbles as he helped lead the Broncos to an appearance in Super Bowl XLVIII. In 2015, Miller won Super Bowl MVP after sacking Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton 3.5 times during Super Bowl 50 as the Broncos defeated Carolina 24–10 to win their third Super Bowl championship.
Since 2011, Miller has 60 sacks, 196 tackles, 32 quarterback hits, and 24 forced fumbles through 99 career games played
Aaron Donald- $17.1 million
Aaron Donald is an American football defensive tackle for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Rams in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Pitt, where he was recognized as a unanimous All-American.
