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Wednesday, July 2, 2025

The 25 Highest-Paid NFL Players for 2023

  • Quarterbacks dominate the list, with 15 in the top 25 and the six highest-paid players all being QBs.
  • Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson’s $80 million payout is almost double the next highest paid player.
Ravens QB Lamar Jackson is by far the NFL's highest paid player for this season.
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

NFL teams heading into the 2023 season have constructed their rosters under a record $224.8 million salary cap, an increase of $16.6 million from the league’s 2022 salary cap.

The NFL also approached $20 billion in revenue last season. It was far from the only financial record set in the league as three franchise quarterbacks, all aged 25 or 26, signed five-year contracts this offseason that marked all-time high average-annual salaries for an NFL player. 

First came Jalen Hurts signing a then-record five-year, $255M deal with the Eagles ($51M average) in April, followed by the Ravens extending Lamar Jackson a couple of weeks later for $260M ($52M average). Finally, Justin Herbert set the current record in July with his $262.5M extension with the Chargers worth $52.5 million per season.   

Regardless of average annual salary, below are the 25 highest-paid NFL players for 2023 when considering their salary and bonuses for the season. Data was compiled from Spotrac.

RankPlayerTeamCompensation
1Lamar Jackson, QB          Baltimore Ravens$80 million
2Deshaun Watson QB     Cleveland Browns$46 million
3Daniel Jones QBNew York Giants$46 million
4Patrick Mahomes QB Kansas City Chiefs        $40.45 million
5Kyler Murray QBArizona Cardinals           $39 million
6Aaron Rodgers QB          New York Jets              $36.8 million
7Chris Lindstrom GAtlanta Falcons$35.7 million
8Orlando Brown Jr LTCincinnati Bengals           $33.7 million
9Laremy Tunsil LTHouston Texans           $32.4 million
10Daron Payne DTWashington Commanders$31.01 million
11Dak Prescott QBDallas Cowboys         $31 million
12Derek Carr QBNew Orleans Saints$30 million
13Kirk Cousins QBMinnesota Vikings$30 million
14Aaron Donald DTLos Angeles Rams$28.5 million
15Russell Wilson QB   Denver Broncos$28 million
16Josh Allen QBBuffalo Bills$28 million
17Geno Smith QBSeattle Seahawks$27.5 million
18Matthew Stafford QBLos Angeles Rams            $27.5 million
19Roquan Smith ILBBaltimore Ravens$27 million
20Ryan Tannehill QBTennessee Titans$27 million
21Davante Adams WRLas Vegas Raiders$26.6 million
22Tyreek Hill WRMiami Dolphins$26.3 million
23Quinnen Williams DT New York Jets$26.1 million
24Jared Goff QB    Detroit Lions$25.9 million
25Jeffery Simmons DTTennessee Titans$25.5 million

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