Patrick Mahomes is the highest-paid NFL player as of November 2026, with a Kansas City Chiefs contract that averages about $64 million a year. We ranked every player on an active NFL contract, at every position, by the average annual value (APY) of his current deal, and we also show what each man is actually being paid in cash during the 2026 season.
The result is blunt. All ten spots go to quarterbacks, and the best-paid non-quarterback, Houston pass rusher Will Anderson Jr., would need another $3 million a year just to reach number ten. Ties on APY are broken by guaranteed money.
| Rank | Name | Position, team | Pay per year (APY) | 2026 cash (approx.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Jared Goff | QB, Detroit Lions | $53 million | $55 million |
| 9 | Brock Purdy | QB, San Francisco 49ers | $53 million | $47 million |
| 8 | Matthew Stafford | QB, Los Angeles Rams | $55 million | $40 million |
| 7 | Baker Mayfield | QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers | $55 million | not yet published |
| 6 | Jordan Love | QB, Green Bay Packers | $55 million | $51 million |
| 5 | Trevor Lawrence | QB, Jacksonville Jaguars | $55 million | $37.5 million |
| 4 | Joe Burrow | QB, Cincinnati Bengals | $55 million | $35.25 million |
| 3 | Josh Allen | QB, Buffalo Bills | $55 million | $55 million |
| 2 | Dak Prescott | QB, Dallas Cowboys | $60 million | $40 million |
| 1 | Patrick Mahomes | QB, Kansas City Chiefs | about $64 million | $56.8 million |
10. Jared Goff: $53 million
Here is a player whose paycheck this season is bigger than his average. Goff’s four-year, $212 million extension from May 2024 puts about $55 million in his account this season, a hair above Josh Allen and second only to Mahomes on the September cash list.
That says a lot about how Detroit built the deal: steady, front-weighted money for a quarterback the Rams once gave away in a trade. Roughly $170.6 million of the contract is guaranteed.
The $53 million APY is the extension’s total spread across its four years.
9. Brock Purdy: $53 million
The 49ers’ quarterback was the last pick of the 2022 draft. Now he earns about $47 million in cash this season under a five-year, $265 million extension signed in May 2025, with about $182.5 million guaranteed.
Few contracts show the gap between rookie-scale pay and a second contract so sharply. On his first deal, Purdy was among the cheapest starters in football.
We used the APY reported at signing, which matches league contract tables from September 2026.
8. Matthew Stafford: $55 million
At 38, Stafford is the oldest player in the top ten and still priced like a franchise quarterback. His Rams deal averages $55 million, with roughly $90 million guaranteed, and is paying him roughly $40 million during the 2026 season.
A Super Bowl winner in his first Rams season, he has kept negotiating shorter, high-value terms instead of chasing a long extension. It is a model more veterans may copy.
Two separate league-wide tables from August and September 2026 list his APY at $55 million.
7. Baker Mayfield: $55 million
Mayfield joined the club the day before the 2026 season. Tampa Bay agreed to a three-year, $165 million extension in September 2026, through 2029, after talks had stalled in training camp over a third year and guarantees.
The deal more than replaces the $33.3 million a year he had been earning, and it makes him the best-paid player in Buccaneers history. The year-by-year cash split had not been published widely at the time of writing, so we leave his 2026 cash blank.
His spot is based on the $165 million over three years reported by two outlets on September 8, 2026.
6. Jordan Love: $55 million
Love’s four-year, $220 million deal from July 2024 is one of the flattest on the list. He takes home about $51 million in 2026, close to his average, with about $160.3 million guaranteed.
Green Bay’s bet was simple: a quarterback who sat three years behind Aaron Rodgers was worth paying before the price rose again. So far the price has only gone up.
The ranking divides $220 million over four seasons.
5. Trevor Lawrence: $55 million
Lawrence earns about $37.5 million in cash this season, nearly $18 million less than his APY. His five-year, $275 million extension from June 2024 saves its biggest payments for later years, when Jacksonville expects the salary cap to be higher.
About $200 million is guaranteed, the fifth-largest guarantee in this ranking.
Five seasons and $275 million give the $55 million figure.
4. Joe Burrow: $55 million
Burrow’s 2026 cash, about $35.25 million, is the lowest in the top ten. That does not make him underpaid: his five-year, $275 million deal from September 2023 carries about $219 million in guarantees, and the heavy years are still ahead.
When it was signed, the extension made him the first player at $55 million a season. Five other quarterbacks have matched that average since.
Our figure is the September 2023 extension’s APY, with the guarantee used as the tiebreaker.
3. Josh Allen: $55 million
Allen collects about $55 million this season, exactly his average. The Bills signed him in March 2025 to six years and $330 million, with $250 million guaranteed, which remains the largest standard guarantee in the league.
He signed it as the reigning MVP, and Buffalo built the deal to keep him for the rest of his prime. That guarantee is why he ranks first among the six quarterbacks tied at $55 million.
Six years and $330 million work out to his $55 million average.
2. Dak Prescott: $60 million
Prescott’s 2026 cash is about $40 million, far below his $60 million APY, because much of his money arrived as a signing bonus in September 2024. That deal, four years and $240 million with about $231 million guaranteed, was the first to average $60 million a year.
For a fourth-round pick who entered the league on a contract worth less than $3 million, it is quite the climb.
His position rests on the 2024 extension’s total divided over four seasons.
1. Patrick Mahomes: about $64 million
Patrick Mahomes leads on both measures. His reworked deal, agreed in June 2026, is worth $504.75 million through the 2033 season, rising to $522.25 million with incentives. The new money, about $239.05 million, averages roughly $64 million a year from 2027, the highest APY in NFL history.
In 2026 he is also the top cash earner in the league, at roughly $56.8 million. Add his endorsement deals with brands such as Adidas, State Farm and Oakley, and his minority stakes in Kansas City’s baseball and soccer clubs, and no player in football earns more.
We took the APY on the new money, as reported in June 2026 and listed in contract databases since.
The highest-paid non-quarterbacks
No one outside the quarterback room makes the ten, but a few are getting close:
- Will Anderson Jr., EDGE, Houston Texans: a reported three-year, $150 million extension, $50 million a year, the most ever for a non-quarterback.
- Micah Parsons, EDGE, Green Bay Packers: about $47 million a year on a four-year, $188 million deal, with roughly $40.8 million landing this season.
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Seattle Seahawks: four years and $168.8 million, about $42.15 million a year, the top wide receiver deal.
- Charles Cross, OT, Seattle Seahawks: about $43.1 million in 2026 cash, the most of any non-quarterback this season.
What the highest-paid NFL players have in common
Every name on the list throws the ball. The NFL has a hard salary cap, and teams spend it where a single player moves the most wins, so a franchise quarterback commands what an elite pass rusher, receiver and tackle earn combined. The second pattern is timing. APY tells you what a contract is worth, while cash tells you when it arrives, and the two can differ by $20 million in a single season. Prescott and Burrow were paid heavily up front or will be paid later; Goff and Allen are collecting close to their averages right now.
The position gap is wider further down the depth chart. The richest running back deal in football, Jahmyr Gibbs’ three-year extension with Detroit, averages $22.5 million, about a third of Mahomes’ number. The top tight end, George Kittle, sits near $19.1 million a year, and the best-paid kicker, Brandon Aubrey, earns about $7 million. A team can pay a whole offensive backfield and its kicker for less than one elite passer.
The third thread is pressure from the calendar. Mayfield signed on the eve of the season, Mahomes reworked his deal in June, and Gibbs signed days after Bijan Robinson set a record. Most of these numbers exist because someone else just raised the bar.
FAQ
Who is the highest-paid NFL player in 2026?
Patrick Mahomes, with a contract averaging about $64 million a year. He also leads the league in 2026 cash at roughly $56.8 million.
Is any non-quarterback among the 10 highest-paid NFL players?
No. Will Anderson Jr. is the highest-paid non-quarterback at a reported $50 million a year, which ranks below the tenth quarterback at $53 million.
What is the difference between APY and cash?
APY is the total contract value divided by its years. Cash is what a player actually receives in a given season, including bonuses, so it can be far above or below the average.
Who earns the most guaranteed money?
Mahomes’ $504.75 million deal becomes fully guaranteed over time. Among guarantees at signing, Josh Allen’s $250 million is the largest.
How much does the 10th highest-paid NFL player make?
Jared Goff averages $53 million a year and is being paid about $55 million in cash in 2026.
Do these figures include endorsements?
No. The ranking uses contract pay only, and endorsement income is mentioned separately where it is well documented.
How we ranked pay
Our rankings are based on public contract reporting, team and school disclosures, and salary databases, all compiled in an internal pay model. Unless we say otherwise, we rank by the average annual value of each current contract and leave endorsements out of the number. Figures are approximate and can change quickly as new deals are signed.
Keep reading
- Why big salaries get taxed harder than investment gains
- How rich people keep getting paid after the paycheck stops
- 10 industries that make millionaires
Last updated: November 2026.
