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Most of the NFL’s highest-paid players are quarterbacks, with only 10 non-QBs making the list of the 25 top-paid NFL players for 2026. Most of those are on the defensive side of the ball.
Contract values have risen greatly in recent years. In 2023, only three players earned at least $50 million per season. This year, 14 players do.
Dak Prescott’s extension before the start of the 2024 season made him the league’s highest-paid player once upon a time. The Cowboys quarterback signed a four-year, $420 million extension for a $60 million average annual value (AAV). But Patrick Mahomes has since overtaken him. The Chiefs’ play-caller signed a 10-year, $450 million deal in 2020—at the time the largest in history for any North American sport—but reworked that deal in February 2026 to free up cap space for Kansas City. He now earns $63.1 million in AAV per season.
Six quarterback are tied for third: the Bills’ Josh Allen, the Bengals’ Joe Burrow, the Packers’ Jordan Love, the Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence, the Buccaneers’ Baker Mayfield, and the Rams’ Matthew Stafford each earn $55 million in AAV.
Allen signed a four-year deal in March 2025, Burrow signed his contract extension in 2023, Love inked a four-year extension with Green Bay in 2024, and Lawrence signed a five-year extension that same year. Mayfield and Stafford signed contract extensions in the 2026 offseason.
In 2026, the Texans’ Will Anderson became the league’s highest-earning non-quarterback after signing a three-year, $150 million extension. Micah Parsons’s four-year, $188 million extension with Green Bay was previously the largest ever for a defensive player.
Ranking the NFL’s Highest-Paid Players
Here are the top 25 highest-paid NFL players. The list was compiled with data from Spotrac.
- Updated: October 23, 2026
| Rank | Player | Position | Team | Total Contract AAV |
| 1 | Patrick Mahomes | Quarterback | Kansas City Chiefs | $63.1 million |
| 2 | Dak Prescott | Quarterback | Dallas Cowboys | $60 million |
| T-3 | Joe Burrow | Quarterback | Cincinnati Bengals | $55 million |
| T-3 | Jordan Love | Quarterback | Green Bay Packers | $55 million |
| T-3 | Trevor Lawrence | Quarterback | Jacksonville Jaguars | $55 million |
| T-3 | Josh Allen | Quarterback | Buffalo Bills | $55 million |
| T-3 | Baker Mayfield | Quarterback | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | $55 million |
| T-3 | Matthew Stafford | Quarterback | Los Angeles Rams | $55 million |
| T-9 | Jared Goff | Quarterback | Detroit Lions | $53 million |
| T-9 | Brock Purdy | Quarterback | San Francisco 49ers | $53 million |
| 11 | Justin Herbert | Quarterback | Los Angeles Chargers | $52.5 million |
| 12 | Lamar Jackson | Quarterback | Baltimore Ravens | $52 million |
| 13 | Jalen Hurts | Quarterback | Philadelphia Eagles | $51 million |
| 14 | Will Anderson | Defensive End | Houston Texans | $50 million |
| 15 | Micah Parsons | Defensive End | Green Bay Packers | $46.5 million |
| 16 | Deshaun Watson | Quarterback | Cleveland Browns | $46 million |
| 17 | Aidan Hutchinson | Defensive End | Detroit Lions | $45 million |
| 18 | Daniel Jones | Quarterback | Indianapolis Colts | $44 million |
| 19 | Jaxon Smith-Njigba | Wide Receiver | Seattle Seahawks | $42.2 million |
| 20 | Myles Garrett | Defensive End | Los Angeles Rams | $41.6 million |
| 21 | T.J. Watt | Outside Linebacker | Pittsburgh Steelers | $41 million |
| 22 | Ja’Marr Chase | Wide Receiver | Cincinnati Bengals | $40.3 million |
| 23 | Danielle Hunter | Defensive End | Houston Texans | $40.1 million |
| 24 | Jalen Carter | Defensive Tackle | Philadelphia Eagles | $38 million |
| 25 | Maxx Crosby | Defensive End | Las Vegas Raiders | $35.5 million |
Related lists:
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