The top 7 most expensive NFL players of the upcoming season by total salaries.
Who are the highest paid NFL players? As the salary cap climbs, the top NFL salaries soar every year with teams rewarding talent and production.
It comes as no surprise that quarterbacks are the highest paid NFL players. But clubs are spending more money than ever on edge rushers, cornerbacks, offensive tackles and wide receivers. Every March, NFL teams dole out hundreds of millions of dollars in an effort to improve their squads and compete for a Super Bowl. The 2022 NFL offseason will be no different, and as a result, the list of the league’s highest-paid players will surely change.
Some of the changes to the 2021 top-paid roster will come from a free agency. However, many more of them will do so by renewing or modifying the contracts of the league’s top talent. Aaron Rodgers, for example, has signed a lucrative contract extension that will bring him more than $50 million a year. Meanwhile, Matthew Stafford was underpaid after leading the Rams to a Super Bowl victory and looks likely to be paid accordingly soon.
The exploding quarterback market is sure to bring some new high-paying signal callers. Aaron Donald and Nick Bosa may soon agree on a record-breaking deal, while several quality receivers like Deebo Samuel qualify for high-values extensions.
It seems to be a little bit difficult to define exactly the highest-paid NFL players. However, you can focus on what a player is making in guarantees, what they are making in any given season or what they make on an average annual basis during the duration of their contract. Typically, though, sorting it by annual value is the best way to go.
Let’s take a look at the highest paid NFL players of 2022.
NFL’s highest-paid players 2022
1. Aaron Rodgers, QB, Packers
- Annual salary: $50.3 million
He will definitely become one of the NFL’s highest-paid player in 2022 since he signed a three-year extension with the Packers. Rodgers will be the first NFL player to earn more than $50 million per season, and his $150.6 million in guaranteed money is the most for an NFL player in history as well. Rodgers has completed 69.8 percent of his passes for 8,414 combined yards, 85 touchdowns and nine interceptions over the last two seasons.
2. Kyler Murray, QB, Cardinals
- Annual salary: $46.1 million
Keller completed a five-year, $230.5 million extension with the Cards in the offseason, locking him down for the foreseeable future. He also has improved his passing percentage every season since he joined the league in 2019.
3. Deshaun Watson, QB, Browns
- Annual salary: $46 million
Watson signed a five-year, $230 million deal with the Browns after arriving via trade earlier in the offseason. The contract is fully guaranteed, so despite uncertainty about whether Watson will play this season, he stands to make a significant amount of money.
4. Patrick Mahomes, QB, Chiefs
- Annual salary: $45 million
During his career, Mahomes has been to two Super Bowls in his four years as a starter and has averaged 5,129 yards, 41 pass TDs and 10 interceptions per 17 games — 10 years, $450 million — any time soon.
5. Josh Allen, QB, Bills
- Annual salary: $43 million
Signed a contract in August of 2021 for $150 million in guarantees, the most in NFL history before Rodgers’ latest deal has markedly improved in each of his four NFL seasons and has led the Bills to double-digit wins and playoff appearances in three consecutive seasons. He had 42 total touchdowns and a career-high 763 rushing yards in 2021. He also threw for 637 yards and nine touchdowns in two 2022 postseason games before the Bills were eliminated by the Chiefs in the divisional round of the playoffs.
6. Derek Carr, QB, Raiders
- Annual salary: $40.5 million
As a successful player, the former second-round pick was rewarded with a three-year, $121.5 million extension earlier in the offseason.
7. Dak Prescott, QB, Cowboys
- Annual salary: $40 million
Prescott returned from a devastating ankle injury suffered in 2020 and posted a career-high 68.8 completion percentage and 37 passing touchdowns in 2021. He has a career record of 53-32 as a starter but he has gone just 1-3 in four postseason starts. That includes a 23-17 loss against the 49ers during last year’s playoffs.