The top NFL stars earn fortunes for playing the game that we love to watch, but who is the biggest earner in football right now?
1. Patrick Mahomes – Kansas City Chiefs
So, who is the highest paid NFL player today? Of course it’s Mahomes. It’s hard to argue with the opinion that the Chief’s quarterback is the best players in the NFL right now. Mahomes chose football over baseball at Texas Tech University and was the 10th overall pick in the 2017 draft.
It took him a season to become first-choice and he then went on to become the only quarterback to throw more than 5,000 years in the NFL as well as college football.
Mahomes quickly became one of the league’s stars and helped the Chiefs to win Super Bowl LIV, wining the most valuable player award. His team made it to the following Super Bowl but lost this time. In terms of his salary, in 2024 the player signed a 10-year extensions worth at least $477 million, with another $26 available in possible bonuses.
2. Josh Allen – Buffalo Bills
Allen is another quarterback who recently signed a huge new contract. In fact, his new deal gives him more fully-guaranteed money than Mahomes, with $258 million over 6 years and the possibility of $30milion more during that period in bonuses.
Allen had led the University of Wyoming to success before being picked 7th overall by the Buffalo Bills in the 2018 draft. After breaking through in his rookie season, he enjoyed a strong second season where the Bills made a play-off appearance. In his third season, Allen improved further and put his name on some of the franchise’s passing records.
3. Deshaun Watson – Houston Texans
Potentially the best quarterback in the NFL, Watson has had an extremely difficult 2024 that has seen him left out of the Texans team. He requested a trade earlier in the year and recent reports suggest that he could move to the Miami Dolphins. With some serious off-field controversies to deal with too, it seems that we might not see him play for the Texans again.
All of this came after he had signed a new deal with the Houston team in 2024 for 4 years, giving him $177.5 million with $111 million of that in guarantee money. At the time, it was the second-biggest contract in NFL history.
4. Dak Prescott – Dallas Cowboys
Prescott was thrust into the starting quarterback role for the Dallas Cowboys not long after joining in the 4th round of the 2016 draft. He set a number of rookie records in that first season and was given the award of NFL offensive rookie of the year thanks to his performances.
The first deal Prescott signed with the Cowboys was for 4 years, and it was only through injury to more established players that he got his chance so early. His terrific performances led to him signing a 4-year extension in 2024. With $126 million guaranteed, the total amount of the deal is $160 million.
5. Russell Wilson – Seattle Seahawks
The final entrant on this list is also a highly-rated quarterback. Wilson played college football with NC State and Wisconsin before joining the Seahawks, as the 6th quarterback chosen in the 2012 draft. Many analysts believe it was only his relative lack of height that stopped him being close to the number one pick.
He has shown incredible consistency in his time in Seattle and helped his team to win Super Bowl XLVIII. In 2019, Russell Wilson became the NFL’s highest-paid player when he signed a 4-year extension worth $140 million. It gave him $107 million guaranteed and included a no-trade clause.
