Among players with Alabama football roots, former Athens High School standout Philip Rivers has collected the most pay from NFL teams. During his 17 seasons as an NFL quarterback, Rivers’ salaries totaled $243,944,322, according to the sports financial website spotrac.com, which ranks 12th in NFL history.
Rivers is among the 13 quarterbacks who are the highest-paid players in the NFL’s 105 seasons. But only two of the 10 highest-paid NFL players from Alabama high schools and colleges are quarterbacks.
The Alabama top 10 also includes three wide receivers, one center, one cornerback, one defensive tackle, one inside linebacker and one outside linebacker.
But that’s going to change during the 2025 season.
The highest-paid players in the NFL among those from Alabama high schools and colleges in the 2024 season were quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa of the Miami Dolphins and Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles. In 2024, the Dolphins paid Tagovailoa $43,126,890, and the Eagles paid Hurts $40,000,000.
Each of the former Crimson Tide teammates has four seasons left on his current contract. If Tagovailoa completes the contract at its current terms, he will have been paid $265,910,807 in his NFL career. If Hurts does that, his NFL pay would come to $265,897,559.
One player joined the state top-10 money list in the 2024 season. After getting paid $12,047,204 by the Baltimore Ravens in 2024, cornerback Marlon Humphrey’s career earnings reached $83,030,203. That moved Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Terrell Owens from Benjamin Russell High School out of the top 10.
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Philip Rivers
Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers passes during an NFL game against the Tennessee Titans on Oct. 21, 2018, at Wembley Stadium in London.AP
The 10 players from Alabama high schools and colleges who have been paid the most by NFL teams include:
1. Philip Rivers, Athens High School: $243,944,322
San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers 2004-2019, Indianapolis Colts 2020: Rivers was chosen for the Pro Bowl eight times. In NFL history, the quarterback ranks sixth in passing yards and touchdown passes.
2. Julio Jones, Foley High School, Alabama: $149,167,021
Atlanta Falcons 2011-2020, Tennessee Titans 2021, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2022, Philadelphia Eagles 2023: A wide receiver, Jones was chosen for seven Pro Bowls and received first-team All-Pro recognition twice. In 2015, Jones had 1,871 receiving yards, which at the time was the second-most in a single season in NFL history.
3. Amari Cooper, Alabama: $136,692,228
Oakland Raiders 2015-2018, Dallas Cowboys 2018-2021, Cleveland Browns 2022-2024, Buffalo Bills 2024: A wide receiver, Cooper has been a Pro Bowl selection five times and has seven 1,000-yard receiving seasons.
4. Cam Newton,Auburn: $133,545,071
Carolina Panthers 2011-2019, 2021, New England Patriots 2020: The No. 1 pick in the 2011 NFL Draft after winning the Heisman Trophy as the quarterback for Auburn’s 2010 BCS national-championship team, Newton was a three-time Pro Bowl selection and the first-team All-Pro QB in 2015, when he won the NFL Most Valuable Player Award.
5. Tyreek Hill,West Alabama: $119,939,171
Kansas City Chiefs 2016-2021, Miami Dolphins 2022-2024: A wide receiver, Hill has been a Pro Bowl selection eight times and earned first-team All-Pro recognition five times. In 2023, Hill led the NFL with 1,799 receiving yards and tied for the league lead with 13 touchdown receptions.
6. C.J. Mosley, Theodore High School, Alabama: $94,656,002
Baltimore Ravens 2014-2018, New York Jets 2019-2024: An inside linebacker, Mosley was a Pro Bowl pick five times and recorded more than 100 tackles in every season in which he played at least 15 games. Mosley announced his retirement this offseason.
7. DeMarcus Ware, Auburn High School,Troy: $89,993,750
Dallas Cowboys 2005-2013, Denver Broncos 2014-2016: A nine-time Pro Bowl selection and four-time first-team All-Pro, Ware won a Super Bowl ring with the Broncos to cap the 2015 season. Ninth in NFL history with 138.5 sacks, compiled mainly as an outside linebacker, Ware was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2023.
8. Marcell Dareus, Huffman High School, Alabama: $87,134,946
Buffalo Bills 2011-2017, Jacksonville Jaguars 2017-2019: Dareus was a Pro Bowl defensive tackle in 2013 and 2014 and a first-team All-Pro selection in 2014 after being the third player picked in the 2011 NFL Draft.
9. Marlon Humphrey, Hoover High School, Alabama: $83,030,203
Baltimore Ravens 2017-2024: The cornerback was a Pro Bowl selection for the fourth time and a first-team All-Pro pick for the second time in the 2024 season.
10. Rodney Hudson, B.C. Rain High School: $82,403,707
Kansas City Chiefs 2011-2014, Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders 2015-2020, Arizona Cardinals 2021-2022: An All-American guard at Florida State, Hudson played center in the NFL. He earned Pro Bowl invitations in 2016, 2017 and 2019.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X@AMarkG1.
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