Aaron Rodgers Leads With $76 Million
Aaron Rodgers was the NFL’s highest-paid player for three years starting in 2013 with an average annual salary of $22 million. But a rash of new agreements pushed the two-time MVP down to 11th in the salary rankings heading into the 2018 season. Something had to give.
So despite two years left on his previous contract, the Green Bay Packers rewarded their franchise QB in late August with a blockbuster extension worth $134 million over four years. His average salary of $33.5 million is once again tops in the sport, and his total salary and bonuses in 2018 are a one-year record of $66.9 million. Off-field earnings of $9 million push his total comp for 2018 to more than $75 million.
Football players are cashing in like never before thanks to a 44% increase in the NFL salary cap over the past five years triggered by a steady increase in the value of TV contracts. The six current richest NFL contracts—each worth at least $134 million—were all signed over the past 13 months, including three in a span of four days just ahead of the 2018 opener (Aaron Donald, Rodgers and Khalil Mack).
The NFL’s 10 top-paid players will earn $424 million in salary, bonuses, endorsements and licensing income this year. The tally is up 43% from last year’s highest earners.
Quarterbacks rule the charts of the NFL’s highest-paid players, with 7 of the top 10 spots based on 2018 cash earnings, plus endorsements. The exceptions are a pair of transcendent defensive players in Donald and Mack, as well as New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham.
The top 10 in 2018 includes several of the NFL’s most marketable players in Rodgers, Drew Brees, Tom Brady and Beckham. But despite the robust endorsement profiles of those players, off-field income only represents 12% of the $434 million in earnings for the top 10 players this year.
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The NFL’s Highest-Paid Players 2018
1. Aaron Rodgers
Total Earnings: $75.9 million
Salary/bonuses: $66.9 million
Endorsements: $9 million
Rodgers’ $33.5 million average salary shattered the record of $30 million set by Matt Ryan. Rodgers is due another $13 million in March 2019, pushing his 12-month haul from the Packers to $80 million. His off-field partners include Adidas, State Farm, Prevea Healthcare, Bergstrom Automotive, Sharpie and IZOD, with the State Farm deal one of the richest endorsements in the sport.
2. Matt Ryan
Total Earnings: $57.5 million
Salary/bonuses: $52.5 million
Endorsements: $5 million
Ryan became the NFL’s first $30 million-per-year player in May when the Falcons locked up their franchise QB through 2023. At the time, the deal set new records for average salary ($30 million), total value ($150 million), guaranteed money ($100 million) and signing bonus ($46.5 million, with half deferred to April 2019). The 2016 MVP award and Super Bowl appearance raised Ryan’s marketing profile. His robust endorsement profile includes big brands like Nike
3. Jimmy Garoppolo
Total Earnings: $43.1 million
Salary/bonuses: $42.6 million
Endorsements: $500,000
Garoppolo won his first five starts for San Francisco after a midseason trade from the Patriots, where he served as Tom Brady’s backup for three-and-a-half years. The five games were enough for the 49ers to offer Garoppolo a five-year, $137.5 million contract. The deal pays $90 million over the first three years. Nike’s Jordan Brand signed the San Fran QB to a marketing deal ahead of the 2018 season. Garoppolo and Brady are both represented by the same agent, Don Yee.
4. Khalil Mack
Total Earnings: $41.8 million
Salary/bonuses: $41 million
Endorsements: $750,000
The Oakland Raiders and Mack reached an impasse on a new contract, which led the team to trade the pass rusher to the Chicago this month. The former Defensive Player of the Year got paid by the Bears to the tune of $141 million over six years. It is the richest deal ever for a defensive player and includes $90 million in guaranteed money. Mack’s endorsement profile is rising with his move to Chicago. Current partners are Nike, New Era, Mack Trucks and Panini.
5. Aaron Donald
Total Earnings: $41.1 million
Salary/bonuses: $40.9 million
Endorsements: $250,000
The reigning Defensive Player of the Year held out of training camp for the second straight year, spurring the Rams to give Donald a six-year, $135 million extension a week before the season kickoff. He received a $40 million signing bonus and $87 million guaranteed, setting records for a defensive player until Mack signed his pact. Donald has a handful of endorsement partners in Pepsi, Panini, Boone Enterprises and Karma Automotive.
6. Alex Smith
Total Earnings: $41 million
Salary/bonuses: $40 million
Endorsements: $1 million
After five years in Kansas City and four postseason appearances, the Chiefs traded Smith to the Washington Redskins in January. The Skins signed the former No. 1 overall pick to a four-year contract extension worth $94 million. Smith set an NFL record in 2017 with the most passes to start a season without throwing an interception (287), and his 104.7 passer rating led the NFL. Smith earns $1 million annually off the field from memorabilia, appearances and sponsors Nike and AdvoCare.
7. Drew Brees
Tampa Bay Buccaneers v New Orleans Saints
2018 Wesley Hitt
Total Earnings: $40 million
Salary/bonuses: $27 million
Endorsements: $13 million
Brees signed a two-year contract extension with the New Orleans Saints in March worth $50 million. He ranks third on the career passing yardage and passing touchdowns lists. Entering the 2018 season, he is only 1,500 yards and 51 TD passes from the top spot all time on both lists. Brees is one of the NFL’s most successful pitchmen, with more than a dozen endorsement deals, including Nike, Procter & Gamble
8. Tom Brady
Houston Texans v New England Patriots
2018 Getty Images
Total Earnings: $29 million
Salary/bonuses: $15 million
Endorsements: $14 million
Brady is likely to earn another $5 million in bonuses this season, on top of his current $15 million compensation, after the Patriots added incentives to his contract ahead of the season start. He’ll earn $1 million each for top five finishes in passer rating, completion percentage, yard per attempt, TD passes and passing yards. Brady swapped his mattress endorsement this year from Simmons to online startup Molecule. The deal includes an equity stake in the company for Brady. The five-time Super Bowl champ sold the most licensed goods during 2017, according to the NFLPA.
9. Odell Beckham Jr.
Total Earnings: $28 million
Salary/bonuses: $21.5 million
Endorsements: $6.5 million
Beckham became the highest-paid wide receiver in the game last month with a five-year, $90 million contract extension that includes another $5 million in potential bonuses from the Giants. Beckham’s Nike deal is one of the NFL’s richest. The Swoosh released its first Beckham lifestyle shoe in November.
10. Kirk Cousins
Total Earnings: $27.5 million
Salary/bonuses: $26 million
Endorsements: $1.5 million
Cousins was the rare productive QB to reach the open market in 2018. He cashed in with a three-year, $84 million deal with the Minnesota Vikings. The deal is unique for multiyear NFL contracts in that 100% of the money is guaranteed. Cousins threw for more than 4,000 yards each of the past three years for Washington.
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