Highest Paid NFL Players
The NFL’s 20 highest-paid players are set to earn $1.07 billion during the 2026 season, a 7% increase from the prior year, with Patrick Mahomes leading the way for the second consecutive year. Design by Grace Hughes, Photos by Jamie Squire/Getty Images, Grant Halverson/Getty Images, Mitchell Leff/Getty Images, Nic Antaya/Getty Images, Rich Storry/Getty Images
Since the start of the 2023 season, few quarterbacks have posted better numbers than Baker Mayfield. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signal caller ranks second in passing touchdowns and third in passing yards during that span. And now, he’s getting paid like the company he keeps.
Mayfield is the NFL’s fourth highest-paid player this season, including on- and off-field earnings, rising from the No. 20 spot in Sportico’s ranking last year. He’s slated to collect $50 million from the Bucs thanks to the three-year, $165 million contract extension agreed to earlier this month. That added $110 million in newly guaranteed money to the $40 million that remained on his preexisting deal. His deep endorsement portfolio is worth an estimated $9 million this year, pushing his total earnings to $59 million.
But even a bump of that magnitude wasn’t enough to grab the top spot among the league’s best earners.
That crown belongs to Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes for the second straight year. Thanks to an extension he signed in June, which reworked his existing deal and carries a value just shy of $505 million from 2026 to 2033, Mahomes will pull in a league-best $56.8 million on the field this season. Add in $32 million from his marketing and business activities, and the three-time Super Bowl champion leads every other player in the sport at $88.8 million in total estimated earnings.
While the size of NFL players’ annual paydays tends to swing widely based on new deals, extensions, contract restructures and varying bonuses, the makeup of this year’s crop reinforces that the best financial position remains under center. The 15 highest-paid players in the NFL this season all play quarterback, with 17 in total ranking among the top 20. That’s up from both the 16 and 15 signal callers that qualified for the list in 2024 and 2025, respectively.
Green Bay Packers linebacker Micah Parsons, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and Seattle Seahawks offensive tackle Charles Cross are the only non-QBs to crack the NFL’s 20 best-earners this season. Parsons is still reaping the benefits of the four-year, $186 million he signed in 2025 after the Dallas Cowboys shipped him off to the Packers, while Cross scored his own payday—$104.4 million over four years, with $75 million guaranteed—a week before the Seahawks kicked off their Super Bowl-winning postseason run in January.
Kelce, on the other hand, attributes the bulk of his earnings to his off-the-field endeavors. The 36-year-old pulls in an estimated $30 million annually outside of his playing wages. A notable chunk of that comes from the reportedly $100 million-plus deal he and his brother, Jason, inked in 2024 with Amazon-owned audio platform Wondery for their New Heights podcast.
In total, the NFL’s 20 highest-paid players are projected to earn $1.07 billion during the 2026 season, a 7% increase from the prior year. It does, however, trail the $1.1 billion the league’s 20 best-earners put up for the 2024 season. The earnings are derived predominantly from salary and bonuses, with off-field income representing only 16% of the total. The average age of the top 20 is 30 and ranges from 23 (Fernando Mendoza) to 38 (Matthew Stafford).
Sportico’s earnings figures include base salaries and bonuses for the 2026 NFL season. Excluded are any incentives or playoff bonuses. The off-field earnings estimates were compiled through conversations with those familiar with NFL endorsement deals. Also included is income from memorabilia, licensing, appearances, media and businesses tied to their celebrity. The figures are all before taxes and any agent fees.
The NFL’s 20 Highest-Paid Players 2026
1. Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs): $88.8 million
Salary: $56.8 million | Endorsements: $32 million | Age: 31
The two-time NFL MVP’s investment portfolio includes ownership stakes in MLB’s Royals, MLS’ Sporting KC, NWSL’s KC Current and the Alpine Formula 1 team. In 2024, he launched a ready-to-drink iced coffee brand, Throne Sport Coffee, with beverage industry veteran Michael Fedele. His off-field earnings include licensing payouts from the NFL Players Association, which topped $8 million in 2025.
2. Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills): $73 million
Salary: $55 million | Endorsements: $18 million | Age: 30
Even with one of the strongest arms in football, Allen continues to dominate the opposition with his legs. His 83 rushing touchdowns put him 18th overall on the NFL’s all-time list. Off the field, Allen launched his own production company—Out of Pocket Studios—with Skydance Sports, joining the trend of athletes building media businesses. Allen’s endorsement deals include New Balance, Delta, Snickers, SoFi, Beats, New Era and more.
3. Jared Goff (Detroit Lions): $60 million
Salary: $55 million | Endorsements: $5 million | Age: 31
Goff made his fifth Pro Bowl last season after finishing second in the NFL for passing yards and passing touchdowns. He works with more than a dozen brands, including Cure Auto, Vuori, Ford, Old Spice and Goff Law Group.
4. Baker Mayfield (Tampa Bay Buccaneers): $59 million
Salary: $50 million | Endorsements: $9 million | Age: 31
Mayfield’s star has risen on and off the field since he joined Tampa ahead of the 2023 season. The $165 million extension he signed with the Bucs in September marks the third time he’s put pen to paper with the franchise, building on his initial one-year, $4 million deal from three years ago and the three-year, $100 million pact he signed thereafter. The 2017 Heisman Trophy winner and former No. 1 overall draft pick has a deep roster of endorsement partners, including Adidas, Nissan, AdventHealth and Sonic.
5. Jalen Hurts (Philadelphia Eagles): $57.5 million
Salary: $51.5 million | Endorsements: $6 million | Age: 28
Hurts has a Super Bowl MVP award on his resume, but Eagles fans remain split on the quarterback. It hasn’t slowed his licensing business, which has been one of the highest in the sport, with more than $7 million in income from the NFLPA during the most recent three years reported. In March, he published his first children’s book, Better Than a Touchdown.
6. Tua Tagovailoa (Atlanta Falcons): $56.5 million
Salary: $54 million | Endorsements: $2.5 million | Age: 28
Tagovailoa may be one of the highest-paid players in football, but his current team is paying him only the veteran minimum salary of $1.21 million. The Miami Dolphins are on the hook for the balance of his $54 million paycheck after cutting him in March and enduring a record $99.2 million dead cap hit.
7. Brock Purdy (San Francisco 49ers): $56 million
Salary: $47 million | Endorsements: $9 million | Age: 26
Despite being drafted with the final “Mr. Irrelevant” pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, Purdy has earned his place among the league’s elite earners. He led the NFL in passer rating during the 2023 and helped 49ers reach the Super Bowl, which the franchise lost to the Chiefs, and has appeared in ads for brands like Toyota, John Deere and performance clothing and footwear company Ariat. Purdy added a deal with SAVA Nutrition in September.
8. Lamar Jackson (Baltimore Ravens): $55.5 million
Salary: $52 million | Endorsements: $3.5 million | Age: 29
Jackson represented himself when he signed his five-year, $260 million contract with the Ravens in 2023, and now holds most of the cards with a cap hit of $84.3 million for the final year of the deal in 2027. Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti has publicly said he’s ready to make the two-time MVP the highest-paid quarterback in the game.
9. Jordan Love (Green Bay Packers): $55 million
Salary: $51 million | Endorsements: $4 million | Age: 27
Love signed a four-year, $220 million contract extension in 2024 that came with a record $75 million signing bonus, a mark later surpassed by Dak Prescott. He doesn’t have the social following of some of his peers, with less than 700,000 followers on X and Instagram combined. Still, Love has promoted American Family Insurance, Toyota, Sony and mobile game NFL Retro Bowl ‘26 on Apple Arcade on social media.
10 (tie). Daniel Jones (Indianapolis Colts): $52 million
Salary: $50 million | Endorsements: $2 million | Age: 29
Jones was having a career season during his first year in Indianapolis before a torn Achilles tendon in Week 14 cut it short. That injury uncertainty didn’t stop the Colts from signing him to a two-year, $88 million contract extension, and he was back under center to start the 2026 season. FedEx, Nike, Poland Spring and Raising Cane’s are among his brand partners.
10 (tie). Dak Prescott (Dallas Cowboys): $52 million
Salary: $40 million | Endorsements: $12 million | Age: 33
Prescott’s deal carries an average annual value of $60 million, which puts him $5 million ahead of the six quarterbacks who share the NFL’s third-best mark at $55 million. The four-time Pro Bowler’s endorsement portfolio includes Jordan Brand, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Lowe’s, AT&T and Spindrift. He signed a multiyear deal with nonalcoholic beverage company Athletic Brewing Company, which included an equity stake in addition to cash.
12. Fernando Mendoza (Las Vegas Raiders): $50 million
Salary: $39 million | Endorsements: $11 million | Age: 22
The 2025 Heisman Trophy winner signed a four-year, $57.3 million deal, including a $38.1 million signing bonus. It was a major step up from the $48.8 million deal fellow quarterback Cam Ward signed last year as the top pick by the Tennessee Titans. Mendoza entered the NFL as one of its most marketed players and has endorsement deals with Adidas, LinkedIn, Nissan, Pfizer, Royal Canin, State Farm, Taco Bell, U.S. Bank and Waymo.
13. Trevor Lawrence (Jacksonville Jaguars): $48 million
Salary: $37.5 million | Endorsements: $10.5 million | Age: 26
The $55 million average annual value on Lawrence’s deal is tied for third in the NFL behind Mahomes and Prescott. He’s banked $10 million in licensing income from the NFLPA during the past four years. He has more than 10 endorsement deals, including Adidas, American Eagle, Breitling, EverBank, Fast Twitch Energy, Gatorade and Ritz.
14. Matthew Stafford (Los Angeles Rams): $47 million
Salary: $40 million | Endorsements: $7 million | Age: 38
Stafford is the oldest member of the NFL’s top-20 earners but was the league’s MVP last year. While the Rams drafted his heir apparent, Ty Simpson, in the first round of April’s draft, they also gave Stafford a one-year, $55 million extension, tying him to the club through 2027.
15. Deshaun Watson (Cleveland Browns): $46.5 million
Salary: $46 million | Endorsements: $500,000 | Age: 31
The Browns’ long local nightmare is almost over as Watson is in the final year of his five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed contract. He started a total of 20 games his first three years with the Browns and missed the entire 2025 season recovering from a torn Achilles tendon. Watson had just 19 touchdown passes for Cleveland heading into the 2026 season.
16. Micah Parsons (Green Bay Packers): $44.8 million
Salary: $40.8 million | Endorsements: $4 million | Age: 27
After a prolonged standoff with the Cowboys, Parsons was traded to the Packers just ahead of the 2025 season and signed the richest deal ever for a non-QB with an average annual value of $46.5 million. But Houston Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. now holds the mark at $50 million, with Parsons second. Off the field, the All Pro rusher hosts a weekly podcast through Bleacher Report called The Edge With Micah Parsons.
17. Charles Cross (Seattle Seahawks): $43.3 million
Salary: $43.1 million | Endorsements: $200,000 | Age: 25
Cross is the first offensive lineman to rank among the NFL’s highest-paid players since Atlanta Falcons guard Chris Lindstrom made the list in 2023. The 2022 draftee out of Mississippi State represented himself when he signed his rookie contract, but he hired Klutch Sports in 2025.
18. Travis Kelce (Kansas City Chiefs): $42 million
Salary: $12 million | Endorsements: $30 million | Age: 36
Kelce’s wedding to global pop music superstar Taylor Swift dominated headlines during the NFL’s offseason, with Madison Square Garden as the venue and reportedly 1,000 guests in attendance, including celebrities and athletes like Tom Hanks, Selena Gomez, Paul McCartney, Peyton Manning, Simone Biles and Alex Morgan. While his off-the-field businesses continue to prosper, Kelce also recently launched a name, image and likeness consulting firm called Tekta with the marketing arm of French public relations and communications company Publicis Groupe.
19 (tie). Joe Burrow (Cincinnati Bengals): $40.3 million
Salary: $35.3 million | Endorsements: $5 million | Age: 29
Burrow is in Year 3 of his five-year, $275 million contract with the Bengals. Injuries limited the QB to eight games last season, after he led the NFL in touchdown passes and passing yards in 2024 and finished fourth in MVP voting. Athletic apparel brand Alo used Burrow to launch its first performance sneaker. This fall, Burrow is fronting the ad campaign for Alo’s latest collection.
19 (tie). Kyler Murray (Minnesota Vikings): $40.3 million
Salary: $36.8 million | Endorsements: $3.5 million | Age: 29
Like Tagovailoa, Murray’s previous team, the Arizona Cardinals, is on the hook for almost all his on-field earnings this season. He’s playing for the Vikings under the veteran minimum. His season got off to a rough start, with the QB entering the NFL’s concussion protocol following a hit during Minnesota’s opening game against the Packers. He’s slated to return in Week 3 against the Buccaneers.
Rolling Stone
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