Tom Brady is the richest NFL quarterback in November 2026, with a net worth we estimate at about $500 million. This ranking covers living players who have started an NFL game at quarterback, active or retired. We count what they earned on the field, in the broadcast booth and from businesses their football careers launched.
The position pays more than any other in American team sport, but contracts alone rarely make the top of this list. The richest passers figured out a second act, and the top two built much of their money away from the huddle, in the broadcast booth, in team ownership and in production.
| Rank | Name | Net worth (USD) | Main source of wealth |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Dak Prescott | $120 million | NFL contracts, endorsements |
| 9 | Eli Manning | $160 million | NFL salary, endorsements, TV |
| 8 | Patrick Mahomes | $170 million | NFL contract, endorsements, team stakes |
| 7 | Kirk Cousins | $180 million | Guaranteed NFL contracts |
| 6 | Matthew Stafford | $185 million | NFL career earnings above $400 million |
| 5 | Russell Wilson | $190 million | NFL salary, endorsements, investments |
| 4 | Drew Brees | $220 million | NFL salary, endorsements, restaurant franchises |
| 3 | Aaron Rodgers | $250 million | NFL career earnings near $400 million |
| 2 | Peyton Manning | $325 million | Omaha Productions, endorsements, NFL salary |
| 1 | Tom Brady | $500 million | NFL salary, Fox contract, Raiders stake |
10. Dak Prescott: $120 million
Dallas took Prescott in the fourth round in 2016 as a backup. An injury to the starter put him on the field as a rookie, and he won Offensive Rookie of the Year. He has been the Cowboys’ starter ever since.
His contracts climbed with every negotiation. In 2024 Dak Prescott signed a four-year, $240 million extension, about $60 million a year, the highest average salary in NFL history at the time. Sponsors have included Adidas and Beats, and he runs a charitable foundation in Texas.
Much of his record deal is still being paid, so we counted cash received after tax plus endorsements, which puts him at about $120 million and climbing fast.
9. Eli Manning: $160 million
The younger Manning spent all 16 of his seasons with the New York Giants and beat Tom Brady’s Patriots in two Super Bowls. By the time he retired after the 2019 season, he had collected roughly $252 million in salary and bonuses.
Retirement turned him into a TV personality. Eli Manning co-hosts the ManningCast with his brother on Monday nights, fronts a college football travel show, and was an executive producer on Chad Powers, the Hulu comedy inspired by a viral prank in which he played a walk-on in disguise.
A single solid estimate puts Eli at $160 million. We reached the same figure by taking his career pay after tax and adding a decade of endorsements worth several million a year.
8. Patrick Mahomes: $170 million
Mahomes is the only active starter whose future earnings are almost certainly bigger than anything on this page. He signed a 10-year extension in 2020 worth up to $450 million, the largest contract in the history of American sports at the time, and he has three Super Bowl rings with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Off the field, Patrick Mahomes owns small stakes in the Kansas City Royals, Sporting Kansas City and the Kansas City Current, and joined an investor group in the Alpine Formula 1 team in 2023. Sponsors include State Farm, Adidas, Oakley and Head & Shoulders.
His figure is low only because most of his contract money has not been paid yet. We counted cash actually received after tax, plus endorsements and his team stakes at cost.
7. Kirk Cousins: $180 million
A fourth-round pick in 2012, Cousins became rich through negotiation as much as through touchdowns. He played two seasons in Washington on the franchise tag, refusing a long-term deal he thought was too small. In 2018 the gamble paid: Minnesota gave him a three-year, $84 million contract with every dollar guaranteed, the first deal of its kind for a starting quarterback.
Atlanta signed him to a four-year, $180 million deal in 2024. Across his career, Cousins has collected more than $300 million on the field, which puts him in a club of very few players at any position.
The only detailed outside estimate sits at $180 million. Our version weighs his career pay after tax against modest endorsement income, since he never chased commercial work.
6. Matthew Stafford: $185 million
Detroit drafted Stafford first overall in 2009 and paid him like a franchise player for 12 seasons, through very few playoff games. A trade to the Los Angeles Rams in 2021 changed that, and in February 2022 he won Super Bowl LVI.
Stafford’s on-field pay has now passed $400 million, among the highest totals any NFL player has ever collected. He keeps a low commercial profile, and in May 2026 the Rams gave him a one-year extension through the 2027 season.
He ranks below players who earned less for two reasons: taxes in California and Michigan, and almost no business holdings. Our estimate treats him as a high earner who saved well rather than one who built equity.
5. Russell Wilson: $190 million
Seattle took Wilson in the third round in 2012, and within two seasons he had won Super Bowl XLVIII. His later deals were huge, including a five-year, $245 million extension with Denver signed in 2022. On-field earnings across his career run to roughly $315 million.
Russell Wilson has always worked the business side hard. He is part of the ownership group of the Seattle Sounders, runs a brand and production company, and co-founded a fashion label with his wife, Ciara. Sponsors over the years included Nike, Bose and Alaska Airlines.
Our model lands on $190 million, close to the outside estimate of $185 million, after taxes and a big spending lifestyle are taken out of his gross pay.
4. Drew Brees: $220 million
The San Diego Chargers let him walk in 2006. New Orleans signed him, and Brees repaid them with the franchise’s first Super Bowl title in February 2010, plus the game’s MVP award. In 2012 he signed a five-year, $100 million deal that included $60 million guaranteed, a record at the time.
Across 20 seasons, Drew Brees earned about $270 million in salary and close to $140 million in endorsements. He invested in restaurant franchises, including Jimmy John’s and Dunkin’, and opened a family sports and entertainment center in Louisiana. After retiring he spent one season as an NBC analyst.
Brees is a strong candidate for one of the best savers on the list. We netted his salary and endorsements for tax, then added his franchise holdings and property.
3. Aaron Rodgers: $250 million
Rodgers waited three seasons behind Brett Favre in Green Bay, then became one of the most efficient passers in history: four MVP awards and a Super Bowl XLV win. He left the Packers for the New York Jets in 2023 and moved to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2025.
His career on-field earnings are close to $400 million, second only to Stafford among active and recent players. Aaron Rodgers also bought a small stake in the Milwaukee Bucks in 2018, and endorsement deals with State Farm and others added steady income through his Green Bay years.
He returned to Pittsburgh on a one-year deal for 2026 and has said it will be his final season. Outside estimates sit at about $250 million, and our figure lands there too once his pay after tax, his Bucks stake and his endorsement history are counted, with an allowance for spending.
2. Peyton Manning: $325 million
Peyton earned about $249 million in NFL pay across 18 seasons with Indianapolis and Denver, and won Super Bowls with both. He also became the most-cast quarterback in TV advertising, from insurance to pizza. Endorsements are estimated to have paid him about $150 million while he played.
His biggest asset now is a company. Peyton Manning co-founded Omaha Productions in 2020, named after his famous line-of-scrimmage audible. It makes the ManningCast, sports documentaries and scripted TV. Early investors valued it at about $400 million, and in 2025 a new investment group backed by a private equity firm bought about 10% at a valuation of more than $750 million.
Outside estimates for Peyton run from $250 million to about $350 million. We sit at $325 million by adding a conservative value for his Omaha stake to his after-tax career earnings.
1. Tom Brady: $500 million
Picked 199th in the 2000 draft, Brady played 23 seasons, won seven Super Bowls and earned about $333 million in salary. He often took less than he could have, which left the Patriots room to sign other players, but sponsors more than made up the difference: well over $100 million while he was playing.
Tom Brady retired in 2023 and joined Fox as its lead NFL analyst on a 10-year deal reported at $375 million. In October 2024 the league approved his purchase of a minority stake in the Las Vegas Raiders, alongside a business partner. He also owns a fitness brand, an apparel line and a production company named after his draft slot.
Estimates for Brady range from about $300 million to $650 million. We land at $500 million after counting his Raiders stake at a conservative value and the Fox money paid so far, not the full contract.
Special mentions
- John Elway: about $145 million. A big part of it came from outside football: he sold his Denver car dealerships to AutoNation in 1997 for $82.5 million, then ran the Broncos’ football operations.
- Troy Aikman: his ESPN deal pays about $18 million a year, more per season than he ever earned as a player. He is climbing toward this list.
- Roger Staubach: about $300 million, which would rank him third, but almost all of it came from the commercial real estate firm he founded in 1977 while still a Cowboys quarterback. Jones Lang LaSalle bought the Staubach Company in 2008 for $613 million. Because that fortune was built outside football, we list him here rather than in the ranking.
What the richest quarterbacks have in common
Look at the top two and you will notice neither is still throwing passes. The playing contract funds the second career, and the second career builds the fortune: Brady in the booth and in team ownership, Peyton in production. The active players below them earned more per season than anyone in the 1970s could imagine, but they are still in the pay-cheque phase.
The other common thread is endorsements. Quarterbacks are the face of a franchise, so sponsors pay them more than any other player on the roster. Brady, both Mannings and Brees each pocketed nine figures or close to it in commercial deals.
And the next wave is coming. With Prescott paid about $60 million a year and Mahomes signed into the 2030s, active quarterbacks are likely to overtake the retired ones within the decade.
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Who is the richest NFL quarterback of all time?
Tom Brady, with an estimated net worth of about $500 million from his playing career, his Fox broadcasting deal and his stake in the Las Vegas Raiders.
Who is the richest active NFL quarterback?
Aaron Rodgers, at about $250 million, who re-signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers for 2026 and has called it his final season. Matthew Stafford, at about $185 million, is next among starters.
How much does the number 10 quarterback have?
Dak Prescott is number 10 with about $120 million, built on his Cowboys contracts and endorsements.
Is Patrick Mahomes richer than Tom Brady?
Not yet. Mahomes has a bigger contract, but much of it is still unpaid. We put him at about $170 million against Brady’s $500 million.
Why is Roger Staubach not in the top 10?
His roughly $300 million fortune came from the commercial real estate company he founded in 1977 and sold to Jones Lang LaSalle in 2008 for $613 million, not from football, so we list him as a special mention.
Which quarterback has earned the most in NFL salary?
Matthew Stafford and Aaron Rodgers lead, each with career on-field earnings around $400 million, ahead of Brady’s $333 million.
How we estimate net worth
Our estimates are based on public reporting, company valuations, and deal and earnings figures all compiled in an internal valuation model. They are approximate, and figures change over time as new information emerges.
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Last updated: November 2026.
