The NFL signs lots of players to big contracts. But who is the highest-paid NFL player? Different from other sports, though, is how these deals with the NFL are not always guaranteed, and only a few of its players access all of the money involved in those huge deals. That said, listing and calculating who the highest-paid NFL player is is not an exact or straightforward calculation.
The metric by which the contracts are measured is not precise, with multiple methods in use. Some even believe that since many of the deals are not guaranteed, the only ones that should matter are the ones that are guaranteed.
Let’s talk about guaranteed money last year. Josh Allen, an NFL linebacker, had the highest amount of money ($150 million) from his guaranteed deal. Jimmy Garoppolo, on the other hand, made $24.1 million on a yearly base salary, and finally, there’s Patrick Mahomes, whose total contract value was a whopping $450 million.
Keeping this in mind, what we will be doing today—for this list—is using the average yearly salary to determine who the most-paid NFL players are. Depending on which contract is being considered, the guaranteed and base salaries vary very much—as such, utilising the average annual salary paints the most accurate picture of the NFL’s earning landscape.
Top 20 Highest-Paid NFL Players 2022
- Aaron Rodgers,
- Patrick Mahomes
- Josh Allen
- Dak Prescott
- Deshaun Watson
- Russel Wilson
- Jared Goff
- Kirk Cousins
- Carson Wentz
- Matt Ryan
- Ryan Tannehill
- Davante Adams
- Jimmy Garoppolo
- DeAndre Hopkins
- T.J. Watt
- Matthew Stafford
- Joey Bosa
- Â Derek Carr
- Myles Garrett
- Khalil Mack
20. Khalil Mack, Outside Linebacker, Bears
- Annual Pay: $23.5 Million
Khalil Mack’s perfect run of making the Pro Bowl ended in 2021 when he hurt his foot and could only play in seven games. The outside rusher has no signs of slowing down at age 30 and gets 11 sacks and 3 forced fumbles per 17 games.
19. Myles Garrett, Defensive End, Browns
- Annual Salary: $25 Million
He was the first pick in the 2017 NFL draft and the 19th highest-paid player in the league. In his five-year career, he has racked up 58.5 sacks and caused 11 losses. Myles lives up to the hype. He is worth the money because some people might think he is the best pass rusher in the NFL.
18. Derek Carr, Quarterback, Raider
- Annual Salary: $25 million
When it comes to quarterbacks, Carr is a pretty good deal. He makes the 14th most money as a QB in the NFL. His team had a 12-3 record in 2016 before he hurt his leg, but he hasn’t won a championship game yet and hasn’t been able to recover that magic. Last year, he threw for 4,804 yards, which is the most in his career. That stat helped Las Vegas make the playoffs. We expect Josh McDaniels to help him this season.
17. Joey Bosa, Defensive End, Charger
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- Annual Salary: $27 million
The AP Defensive Rookie of the Year went to Bosa in 2016. During his career, he has averaged 12 sacks per 17 games. As long as he stays healthy, he will be one of the best outside pass-rushers in the league until his 27th birthday in July.
16. Matthew Stafford, Quarterback, Rams
- Pay: $27 Million a year
Stafford played for the Lions for his first 12 years of football, and then he joined his present team last season. The end result? Matthew Stafford threw 41 touchdowns, which was the most in his career, and helped Los Angeles win the Super Bowl at home. He might get an increase at some point, which would put him ahead of everyone else on the list.
15. T.J. Watt, Defensive End, Steelers
- Annual Pay: $28 Million
Soon before the 2021 NFL season began, T.J. Watt signed a $112 million, 4-year deal that made him the highest-paid defensive player of the season. As of now, he has 22.5 sacks in just 15 games and makes $28 million a year, the most of any defensive player in NFL history. With at least 13 sacks each of the last four years, he has been the league leader in sacks.
14. DeAndre Hopkins, Wide Receiver, Cardinals
Annual Salary: $27.3 million
Before Adam’s new deal made him the highest-paid non-quarterback, DeAndre was the highest-paid player on the list. During the 2017 season, he played in 10 games and only caught 572 yards and eight touchdowns. He is still, without a doubt, one of the league’s best catchers.
13. Jimmy Garoppolo, Quarterback, 49ers
(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) )
Annual Pay: $27.5 million
Even though he led the Niners to the NFC Championship Game last year, Jimmy Garoppolo still looks like he will be leaving the Niners this summer. All of this is possible because Trey Lance is ready to take over as quarterback. He has taken his team to two deep playoff runs. He has also started 33 games and lost 14, scoring 71.
12. Davante Adams, Wide Receiver, Raiders
- Annual Salary: 28.25 Million
Adams is now the highest-paid player in the NFL who is not a quarterback, way ahead of Hopkins. The receiver has an average of 121 catches, 14 scores, and 1,483 yards per 17 games played over the course of 5 seasons. He came over from the Packers in the NFL draft at age 22. Also, the fact that he made the Pro Bowl every season is interesting.
11. Ryan Tannehill, Quarterback, Titans
- Annual Salary: $29.5 Million
As the Titans’ primary starter, Tannehill posts an incredible 30-13 regular-season record; he’s led his team to a total of 3 playoff appearances. He also boasts a 76-27 touchdown-interception ratio in the past three seasons.
10. Matt Ryan, Falcons quarterback
- Pay: $30 million a year
Before 2021, Ryan had a season run of 4,100 yards. He threw for 3,968,000 yards last year. He only threw 20 touchdowns, which was the second-lowest number in his career. However, he is not the same guy who won the MVP in 2016 and led the Falcons to the Super Bowl. He is still a great senior quarterback.
9. Carson Wentz, Quarterback, Commanders
- Pay: $32 million a year
This quarterback was moved to the Colts soon after signing a long-term deal with the Eagles. This was mostly because he didn’t play well in 2020 (15 picks), and Jalen Hurts took his place on the bench. He picked up from last year with 27 TDs—7 Is. Still, his average of 6.9 yards per average had him traded yet again to the Commanders.
8. Kirk Cousins, Vikings quarterback
- Pay: $33 million a year
He was bought because he couldn’t get Minnesota over the hump, but he has thrown for 4,200 yards and 33 scores in each of the last two seasons.
7. Jared Goff, Quarterback, Lions
- Annual Salary: $33.5 Million
After getting a good deal to play for the Rams, Goff was traded to the Lions in exchange for Matthew Stafford in 2021. This was his first season in Detroit. He threw 19 touchdowns, 8 picks, and made 67% of his passes.
6. Russell Wilson, quarterback for the Broncos
- Salary per year: $35 million
Russ went to the Broncos during the off-season, but it didn’t change his status as one of the highest-paid NFL players. The Walter Payton Man of the Year award was given to him in 2020. In his second season, he won the Super Bowl.
5. Deshaun Watson, Quarterback, Texans
- Annual Salary: $39 Million
Despite his numerous run-ins with the law, the young quarterback still managed to maintain a position as one of the most-paid NFL players this year. It is still unclear whether he will play.
4. Dak Prescott, quarterback for the Cowboys
- yearly pay: $40 million
Returning from injury to post a career-high 68.8% on completed passes with 37 touchdown passes last year. Last year, I set a career record as a starter.
3. Josh Allen, Quarterback, Bills
- Annual Salary: $43 Million
Allen has led the Bills to playoff appearances and a few wins in double digits, back-to-back in three seasons. Last year, he had a career-high 763 yards with 42 total touchdowns.
2. Patrick Mahomes, quarterback for the Chiefs
- Annual Pay: $45 million
He used to be the highest-paid NFL player in ’21, but this year someone else took his place. He has always made it to at least the AFC title game, which shows that he is worth the money. The Chiefs won’t soon regret giving him the biggest deal in the league, worth 450 million dollars.
1. Aaron Rodgers, Quarterback, Packers
- Annual Salary: $50.3 million
The NFL’s two-time reigning MVP signed an extension with the Packers, making him the most-paid NFL player of 2022. He also has the highest amount in guarantees of any NFL player, past or present.
Conclusion
The games played within this league are an arduous test of stamina, speed, precision, and, most importantly, power. The teams within the NFL understand this and, as such, have no problem dishing out large amounts of money to reach their goals. Of the 20 highest-paid NFL players mentioned above, Aaron Rodgers takes the cake as the highest-paid NFL player of 2022
