Who are the top earners in the NFL and how did contracts reach such crazy numbers?

The quarterback position is probably the most important individual position in any team sport in the world, so it is no surprise they get paid well, or that they dominate the top paid players in the NFL. Let's take a look at the top earners.

In September 2023, Joe Burrow signed a five-year $275 million contract, earning $55 million per year, according to ESPN. This is the largest annual salary in NFL history and it's difficult to say he didn't earn it given his incredible play so far during his young career.

Justin Herbert's 5-year £262.5 million was signed during last year's offseason and was for a time, the biggest deal in NFL history before surpassed by Burrow. The Chargers are hoping Herbert can stay healthy over the next few years as he and Jim Harbaugh could make for an exciting pairing in Los Angeles.

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Lamar Jackson won his second MVP award in 2023 following an exceptional season both throwing and running the ball. This all came after he signed a 5-year $260 million contract with the Ravens which makes him the third highest-paid player in the NFL.

Hurts led the Eagles to the Super Bowl in 2o22 and, despite losing, earned himself a whopping $255 million of five years. Not bad for a second-round pick.

According to Over The Cap, Russell Wilson signed a five-year deal worth $242.6 million signed in 2022 after he was traded to the Denver Broncos from Seattle. Now it seems as though the Broncos are possibly looking to move on from Russ, making this contract hard to justify!

Kyler Murray signed a monster five-year $230.5 million contract extension that runs through to 2028. The Cardinals were surprisingly competent last year despite their awful record, perhaps Kyler can get them back to winning ways and earn his giant contract.

Deshaun Watson signed a fully guaranteed five-year $230 million contract with the Browns following his trade from the Texans. So far none of his play has come close to justifying that number, but there’s always next year.

Patrick Mahomes’ contract is the largest in overall value, but at just $45 million a year, seems tiny in comparison to some of his peers. The contract does lock him down until 2030 and according to CNN, he has already received $273 million in guarantees on the deal!

Josh Allen signed a six-year deal with the Buffalo Bills worth $43 million per year which seems an absolute bargain in comparison to some others on this list. A good bit of business by the Bills.

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The Giants possibly regret their decision to sign Daniel Jones to a four-year $160 million contract after the 2022 season. According to CBS Sports, they can get out of the deal this offseason if they choose, freeing up cap space and allowing them to look for their next quarterback in the draft.

The value of contracts is constantly rising in the NFL, even in such a short space of time such as this, but over the years things have changed drastically with players going from part-time to now some of the richest sportsmen on the planet, so let’s take a deeper dive into how this has changed.

Formed in 1920 in Canton, Ohio, the NFL looked a lot different to it does now with teams like the Rochester Jeffersons and the Toledo Maroons. Contracts looked a little bit different too, with top players earning around $300 a game which translates to $4,527 in today’s money.

Red Grange was a halfback for the Chicago Bears who was the first player to earn himself a huge contract in the league. He was a star in the early NFL and earned himself a $100,000 dollar contract for 19 games, which is about $1,705,288 today, roughly in line with the modern NFL average.

Contracts didn’t change much during these decades, with the NFL still being a part-time job for many, perhaps the best-paid player was Sammy Baugh, the legendary Washington quarterback who received just $11,000 in 1950. This was topped up by under-the-table payments by sponsors, but we do not know how much he received overall.

Through the 1960s the NFL was exploding in popularity, with the Green Bay Packers under Vince Lombardi becoming a dominant force by the end of the decade. Earlier in the 60s, it was the Browns who ruled the roost, with running back Jim Brown leading the way as the highest-paid player with a contract worth $50,000 in the early 60s, or $493,196 in 2023.

Up until 1978 players were restricted on where they could choose to play, but with free agency starting in 1978, salaries started to increase as bidding wars for top players suddenly started to attract new players, or ensure the stars stayed where they were. By the end of the decade the top salary was OJ Simpsons’ $733,358, which equates to well over $3 million today.

The 1980s saw salaries in the NFL increase by at least 25% across the board, with an average salary of $162,000 across the league jumping drastically from previous years as NFL teams staved off the burgeoning USFL, a rival league. Quarterback Warren Moon’s $1,100,000 per year salary (including bonuses) led the way across the league, a very healthy $3 million.

By the 1990s salaries started to grow rapidly, with million-dollar contracts the norm for most quarterbacks. Through the decade an arms race saw these salaries explode, with cornerback Deion Sanders signing a seven-year $35,000,000 contract making him the highest-paid defensive player in league history. Even this was dwarfed by Drew Bledsoe’s $13,200,000 a year salary, worth a whopping $26,143,275 today.

The 2000s saw some of the best quarterback play in league history, with Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Brett Favre all battling to be the greatest in the league. With this brought bigger and bigger contracts as everyone scrambled to compete, leading the way was Steve McNair with the Titans earning over $18,000,000 a year.

Generally in the NFL, players on their first contract are cheap and use this time to prove they are worth their second deal. But back in 2009 and 2010, before the current rookie wage scales were set, the Detroit Lions and St. Louis Rams were more than willing to break the bank. With Matt Stafford and Sam Bradford signing for $72 million and $76 million respectively before they even played a down in the league.

The NFL operates as the most profitable sports league in the world, with a revenue which increases year on year, giving teams plenty of cash to splash. In 2022, the Green Bay Packers were unsure of the status of QB Aaron Rodgers, who was thinking of retirement and to ensure he didn’t, they made him the first $50,000,000 a year player, earning $150 million over three years.

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