Who are the all-time highest-paid players in NFL history?
Take a look at the highest paid players in NFL history.
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Tom Brady (Image via WCVB-TV)
The NFL is one of the most profitable sports leagues in the world. The American Football league boasts billions of dollars in revenue each year, indicating the massive scale of the league.
Not only that, but the NFL Super Bowl is also the most-watched event on television in the country and it’s going to be for a long time. The league is highly profitable due to the insane fan following of the sport.
Football is engrained in the culture of many people, as it has been around for centuries. This makes the sport highly profitable, and if the sport is highly profitable, then the players playing the sport are bound to get big paychecks.
Most NFL athletes earn millions each year due to their humongous contracts with their respective teams. However, today we are going to discuss some players who have excelled in this department and are considered the all-time highest-paid players in NFL history. Let’s take a look at the top 5 highest-paid NFL players.
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Top 5 highest-paid NFL players of all time
On average, a football player earns millions. However, this list consists of the select few who have outshined everyone with their earnings on the football turf. The players included in the list are the highest earners in NFL history just based on the salary that they have acquired from their respective teams.
5. Drew Brees ($270 million)
Drew Brees is a legendary QB who used to play for the New Orleans Saints. The former NFL QB played in the league for 20 seasons and throughout that time was considered one of the best in the league.
Brees also won the Super Bowl XLIV with the Saints and won the iconic MVP award for his performance. The 44-year-old QB played for the Saints and the Chargers during his career and amassed huge amounts of salary, making him one of the top earners in the league at the time.
Drew Brees earned around $270 million in his entire NFL career. This wealth can be due to his massive contracts with the Saints and the Chargers, who he played for when he was drafted.
4. Matt Ryan ($291 million)
Matt Ryan is a legendary QB who played in just 2 teams throughout his entire career. The legendary QB was drafted by the Falcons and was with them until the latter half of his career when he joined the Saints. Ryan had an illustrious NFL career that made him one of the most notable QBs of his generation.
However, with that fame came massive money that he earned throughout his career due to his massive contracts. Ryan earned around $291 million from his contracts. From that $291 million, $109 million was just his salary and the other amount was incentives, bonuses, and other payments that led to his massive earnings.
3. Matthew Stafford ($300 million)
Matthew Stafford is the only QB on this list who has won a Super Bowl quite recently. The Rams QB was highly instrumental in his team’s Super Bowl run and helped them list the Lombardi Trophy.
Stafford has earned around $300 million until now in his NFL career. Although the QB has a massive salary, most of his earnings came from the humongous signing bonuses he got when signing a new contract.
The Rams QB has earned around $80 million in salaries while earning another $135 million from just signing bonuses. His other sources of salary also included game incentives and bonuses.
2. Aaron Rodgers ($305 million)
Aaron Rodgers is regarded as one of the best NFL QBs of this generation and for good reason. The legendary QB established a dynasty with the Green Bay Packers and is still going strong while being 40 years old.
The Super Bowl-winning QB also has one of the most illustrious contracts with the Packers with guaranteed money with it. The Packers QB has an estimated earning of about $305 million throughout his career, which includes one of the largest contracts ever, $147 million in just signing bonuses while earning another $72 million in salaries. Rodgers is clocking more than $50 million as his annual salary.
It is also reported that Rodgers’ earnings will increase substantially as he is in a middle of a trade move to the New York Jets. He also happens to be the highest earner on this list among the active players.
1. Tom Brady ($333 million)
The greatest NFL player of all time dominated this list as well. Tom Brady has outclassed and outshined every other player in the league and has undoubtedly gone down as the greatest of all time.
The legendary QB was exceptional with his ability with the ball and also had massive brand value that helped him get massive contracts from his teams. Brady had a true underdog journey when he started as the 199th draft pick with the New England Patriots and went on to become the highest paid player in the history of the sport.
Brady also played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the latter half of his career and has an estimated earning of about $333 million. This is the most money earned by any NFL player in the history of the sport.
The legendary QB earned $176 million in just signing bonuses while earning another $67 million from just salaries. His other benefits and match-winning incentives make him the highest earner in the history of the league.
Factors that contribute to a player’s high earnings in the NFL
The NFL gives out massive contracts to many of its players. However, it’s far from extravagant spending, as there are many factors that contribute to high earnings in the NFL.
Player contracts are meticulously designed to have the best outcome for the team and the players. Players’ salaries are majorly defined by their age, performance, pedigree, and form. The best example of this can be the Broncos QB Russell Wilson, who got one of the biggest contracts in NFL history because of his performance with the Seahawks. However, he failed massively in Denver and was one of the worst in the league.
Health is also an important factor that contributes to player contracts. The management can’t afford a player who is injury prone and spends half the time on the sidelines.
In a nutshell, football is a sport, however, the team owners are running a business. The business can only function when their players can get them the trophies and the profits. The financial aspect of the NFL is way complex than the game itself. Regardless, there are some players that we have mentioned above who have mastered this craft and became the top earners in the history of the sport.
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Aamir Jethwa
(1484 Articles Published)