In the NFL, the bar is always rising. Each offseason, superstars reset the market, altering the salaries that the best players at each respective position expect to receive. The Eagles' Saquon Barkley, the Browns' Myles Garrett and the Bengals' Ja'Marr Chase are the latest to do so.
This offseason, Barkley became the highest-paid running back of all time, agreeing to a two-year extension worth $41 million. A day later, Maxx Crosby not only became the highest-paid defensive player, but he also became the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. He only held that title for a few days, however, until Garrett's deal surpassed his. Cleveland gave Garrett a record extension with an average annual salary of $40 million.
A few weeks later, Chase's new contract topped Garrett's, with the receiver now earning an average of $40.25 million per year.
They might not be the only ones this offseason, either. Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons could be the next candidate to become the highest-paid player at his position.
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With that, we took a look at the NFL's highest-paid players per average annual value (AAV), with all salary numbers coming via Spotrac.
Prescott became the NFL's highest-paid player when he signed his extension on the eve of the Cowboys' Week 1 game against the Cleveland Browns last season. The four-year, $240 million deal was the culmination of an awkward offseason in which Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was wishy-washy about paying Prescott.
Prescott earned his long-term deal after the best season of his career in 2023, when he completed a career-high 69.5% of his passes and threw a league-leading 36 touchdowns. His completion percentage dropped to 64.7 across the first eight games of the 2024 season before missing the final nine games with a partially torn hamstring.
The value of running backs is constantly being disputed and Barkley did a lot to help his peers, and himself, out. Barkley was rewarded with a two-year, $41 million extension after winning NFL Offensive Player of the Year in his first year with the Eagles. The New York Giants didn't want to pay Barkley after six seasons with the team, so the Eagles took advantage of that, scooping him up in free agency last offseason. Now, they've doubled-down on their investment, locking up Barkley after he rushed for a career-high 2,005 yards and 13 touchdowns during the regular season and helped them win Super Bowl LIX.
After waiting on a new deal since the beginning of the 2024 season, Chase finally got the contract he was waiting for — signing a four-year deal worth $161 million with $112 million guaranteed. That makes him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history, breaking the record that was held by Myles Garrett. He is also the first receiver ever to eclipse $40 million a year on an annual average. Chase earned the deal after a stellar 2024 campaign, having become the fifth receiver since the merger to lead the league in all three receiving categories — joining Jerry Rice (1990), Sterling Sharpe (1992), Steve Smith Sr. (2005) and Cooper Kupp (2021). Since he entered the league in 2021, no player has caught more touchdowns than Chase (46 receiving touchdowns).
In April, the Cardinals made McBride the highest-paid tight end in NFL history with a four-year, $76 million extension. McBride's new contract is worth an average of $19 million per year, surpassing Travis Kelce ($17.125M AAV) as the biggest earner at the position.
The 25-year-old McBride is coming off a career year in Arizona. He made his first Pro Bowl in 2024 and also eclipsed the 1K receiving mark for the first time with 1,146 yards in 16 games. He ranked fourth in the league with 111 catches, and was one of just 10 players in the NFL last season to record at least 100 receptions and 1,000 receiving yards.
Since he was taken in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft, McBride has emerged as one of Kyler Murray's favorite targets. The tight end has led the Cardinals in receiving each of the last two seasons.
Wirfs signed a five-year, $140.6 million deal last summer to become the highest-paid offensive tackle, whether it's the right or left side. Wirfs, though, plays both sides of the line and does so at a high level. In fact, he became the first player ever to be named a first-team All-Pro at both left and right tackle.
Wirfs earned the highest pass-blocking grade of any offensive lineman in 2024 at 94.1, including the postseason, and allowed zero sacks and just one QB hit, per Pro Football Focus. Wirfs also won Super Bowl LV with the Buccaneers.
Despite being one of two NFL players to receive the franchise tag this offseason, Smith is set to be the highest-paid offensive guard on the one-year tender. He and the Chiefs could still agree on a long-term deal before the July 15 deadline, though.
Smith played 1,288 snaps at the right guard spot and gave up just one sack, according to PFF. Joe Thuney and Nick Allegretti were the only guards to play more snaps than he did this past season.
Humphrey, Smith's neighbor on the offensive line, had PFF's highest pass-blocking grade of any center in 2024 at 91.5, including the postseason. He allowed zero sacks and just two QB hits. In two of his four NFL seasons, he did not allow a sack — and has surrendered just seven in his career, per PFF. The Humphrey and Smith tandem was crucial to the Chiefs' Super Bowl victories in the 2022 and 2023 seasons, and their contracts are vital to the team's long-term success.
Garrett was the highest-paid non-quarterback of all-time before Ja'Marr Chase signed his deal, signing a contract worth $160 million, including $123.5 million in guarantees, per FOX Sports' Jordan Schultz.
The extension came more than a month after the Browns' star pass-rusher had requested a trade. Cleveland's front office, though, was adamant that Garrett would not be dealt. In the end, both sides came to an agreement to keep the 2023 AP Defensive Player of the Year in Ohio.
The Browns selected Garrett with the first pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. Since then, he has lived up to the hype, with a franchise-high 102.5 sacks. He's been named a first-team All-Pro four times and has made six Pro Bowls. In 2024, he led the Browns with 14 sacks and a league-leading 22 tackles for loss, but they went just 3-14. Garrett has only played in three postseason games in his eight seasons in Cleveland.
Jones became the highest-paid defensive tackle when he agreed to a five-year, $158.75 million deal to remain in Kansas City during the 2024 offseason.
The Chiefs star certainly made a strong claim to earn the title of highest-paid player at his position. The six-time Pro Bowler and three-time first-team All-Pro has recorded at least nine sacks in five of the last seven seasons, helping Kansas City win three Super Bowls during that time.
Jones had 37 total tackles and five sacks over 15 games this past season. While his box score stats might not pop out, Jones led all defensive tackles in pass-rush win rate (16%) and was second in pressures (74) at the position, per PFF.
The Buffalo Bills' Josh Allen might have an MVP, but he can't claim he's the highest-paid player at his position like Josh Hines-Allen can. The latter became the highest-paid outside linebacker in the 2024 offseason when he inked a five-year, $141.25 million deal with the Jaguars.
Hines-Allen has been effective as a pass-rusher, posting at least seven sacks in five of his first six seasons. He had a whopping 17.5 sacks in 2023, finishing in the top 12 in pressures in each of the last three seasons.
Of the defensive positions, inside linebacker has the cheapest average annual value contract leader. Still, Smith is making a pretty penny. He reached a five-year, $100 million extension ($60 million guaranteed) with the Ravens in January 2023, doing so after the Chicago Bears traded him in the middle of the 2022 season.
Smith has arguably been the NFL's best inside linebacker since the Bears selected him with the eighth overall pick in the 2018 draft. He's been named to an All-Pro team in five of his first seven seasons, including three first-team nods. He's also recorded at least 100 total tackles in each season of his career, registering 120-plus total tackles in six of them.
While Smith has never led the league in tackles, he's finished in the top 10 five times and has finished in the top five in run stops three times, per PFF.
Stingley Jr. earned a big raise after his first All-Pro season in 2024. The Texans gave the 2022 first-round pick a record-setting three-year, $90 million extension.
The 23-year-old provides Houston with versatility in the secondary, displaying his playmaking skills in both man and zone coverage. Stingley has come down with five interceptions in each of the last two seasons and totaled a career-high 18 passes defensed and 54 tackles in 2024, his first Pro Bowl season. He also allowed a passer rating of 25.5, the best of all cornerbacks with a minimum of 100 coverage snaps (including the playoffs), per PFF.
Following in his father's footsteps, Winfield quickly became one of the league's top defensive backs shortly after the Buccaneers selected him in the second round of the 2020 draft. They rewarded him as such during the 2024 offseason, reaching a four-year, $84.1 million deal with the safety.
Winfield, a one-time All-Pro and Pro Bowler, has been an active tackler throughout the first five seasons of his career. His 6.53 combined tackles per game are the fourth-most among safeties since 2020 (min. 50 games played). He also led the league in forced fumbles in 2023, recording six while he recovered four loose balls.
After helping the Chiefs win a third Super Bowl during the 2023 season, Butker received a record-setting contract. He signed a four-year, $25.6 million deal in August 2024.
Butker has actually never been named a Pro Bowler or All-Pro, but he's been one of the NFL's most accurate kickers since joining the Chiefs in 2017. He led the league in points in 2019, while his 88.6 field goal made percentage is the second-best mark in league history. He's made some pretty clutch kicks as well, draining a memorable field goal at the buzzer to send the divisional-round game against the Buffalo Bills to overtime in January 2022 and breaking the record for the longest made field goal in a Super Bowl in the Chiefs' win over the 49ers in February 2024.
Of the players on this list, Dickson's contract is the oldest. He signed his four-year, $14.5 million extension in June 2021.
Even though Dickson hasn't been named an All-Pro or Pro Bowler during the duration of the contract, the deal has aged well. He's third all-time in yards per punt (48.2), finishing in the top 10 in the stat in each of the last three seasons.
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