NFL Salaries: Top 10 Highest Paid NFL Players in 2020

• The highest-paid NFL player is the Kansas City Chiefs Patrick Mahomes.
• Mahomes makes $45 million per season or 22.7 percent of the Chiefs’ salary cap.
• The top eleven highest-paid NFL players are all quarterbacks.
• The 12th highest athlete in the NFL is Los Angeles Chargers Defensive End Joey Bosa, who earns $27 million per season.

The list of the highest-paid NFL athletes for any particular season is always shifting, but what seems to remain the same is the number of quarterbacks involved, the key football position typically occupying the top ten slots.

We include each of these high-level player’s average annual salary and the total amount of money they were guaranteed at the signing of their last contract, two very different indicators of how well a professional athlete is being compensated.

Regardless of exactly what the upcoming NFL season looks like, these ten players will take home the biggest paychecks, and we look closer at each and also give the predictions and odds of their 2020 production.

Top 10 Highest Paid NFL Players in 2020

1. Patrick Mahomes, Quarterback, Kansas City Chiefs
2. Russell Wilson, Quarterback, Seattle Seahawks
3. Ben Roethlisberger, Quarterback, Pittsburgh Steelers
4. Aaron Rodgers, Quarterback, Green Bay Packers
5. Jared Goff, Quarterback, Los Angeles Rams
6. Kirk Cousins, Quarterback, Minnesota Vikings
7. Carson Wentz, Quarterback, Philadelphia Eagles
8. Dak Prescott, Quarterback, Dallas Cowboys
9. Matt Ryan, Quarterback, Atlanta Falcons
10. Ryan Tannehill, Quarterback, Tennessee Titans

Patrick Mahomes, Quarterback, Kansas City Chiefs

• Average Annual Salary: $45 million
• Total Money Guaranteed: $63.1 million

Patrick Mahomes 2020 Odds

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It stands to reason that Mahomes, considered one of the best athletes in the league, is making the most money out of everybody, with he and the Chiefs agreeing to a 10-year extension of his current contract for a deal worth $477 million-plus another $26 million in potential bonuses.

That breaks down to 22.7 percent of the team’s salary cap – but chances are everyone involved, including head coach Andy Reid, is fine with that, especially after Mahomes led the team to a Super Bowl Championship in 2019.

Russell Wilson, Quarterback, Seattle Seahawks

• Average Annual Salary: $35 million
• Total Money Guaranteed: $70.1 million

Russell Wilson 2020 Odds

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Wilson, the 7x Pro Bowler, is still playing on a four-year deal, a contract extension worth $140 million, which used to make him the highest paid player in the NFL, that is until Mahomes came around and blew him out of the water for the lead.

Wilson’s current financial arrangement lasts through the 2023 season, and hopefully, by that time the former Super Bowl Champion will have another elegant ring to add to his collection and secure an enviable follow-up deal.

Ben Roethlisberger, Quarterback, Pittsburgh Steelers

• Average Annual Salary: $34 million
• Total Money Guaranteed: $37.5 million

Ben Roethlisberger 2020 Odds

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Big Ben is third on this list, and that’s after having sat out most of the 2019 season recovering from an elbow injury on his throwing arm, a hiccup that looks to be healed much to the relief of his teammates and Steelers fans alike.

Last April, Roethlisberger signed a two-year contract extension worth $68 million, one that included a $37.5 million signing bonus and a lot of time off – but another Super Bowl ring in 2020 would certainly do the job of shutting up his scores of doubters and haters.

Aaron Rodgers, Quarterback, Green Bay Packers

• Average Annual Salary: $33.5 million
• Total Money Guaranteed: $78.7 million

Aaron Rodgers 2020 Odds

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Rodgers is 36-years old, a Super Bowl Champ and Super Bowl and League MVP, and that has earned him the fourth highly coveted spot of this list multi-millionaires.

Rodgers, the NFL’s all-time regular-season career passer rating leader (102.4), will be on the third year of a four year deal he signed in August of 2018 worth $134 million-plus a $57.5 million signing bonus.

Jared Goff, Quarterback, Los Angeles Rams

• Average Annual Salary: $33.5 million
• Total Money Guaranteed: $57.043 million

Jared Goff 2020 Odds

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Last year, Goff and the Rams signed a four-year contract extension that was worth $134 million, who followed that up with a 9-7 record last season including tying the lead for attempts at 626 with former Bucs QB Jameis Winston.

The Rams’ third-place finish in the NFC West was a huge disappointment in 2019, something Goff will look to correct during 2020 with the help of his two highly productive receivers, Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods.

Kirk Cousins, Quarterback, Minnesota Vikings

• Average Annual Salary: $33 million
• Total Money Guaranteed: $61 million

Kirk Cousins 2020 Odds

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In March of 2020, Cousins and the Vikings signed a two-year deal worth $66 million, that original contract signed back in 2018 being (at the time) the highest paying contract in NFL history.

Since then, Cousins struggled to get the Vikings far into the playoffs, last season the team falling to the San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional Playoffs by the lopsided score of 10-27, the low offensive postseason output by Cousins and his Vikes duly noted by all involved.

Carson Wentz, Quarterback, Philadelphia Eagles

• Average Annual Salary: $45 million
• Total Money Guaranteed: $63.1 million

Carson Wentz 2020 Odds

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In April of 2019, the Philadelphia Eagles exercised the fifth-year option on Carson Wentz’s contract, then in June agreed to a four-year deal extension worth a total of $128 million, with $107 million of that total guaranteed.

For the first time since his rookie season, Wentz played in all 16 of the Eagles’ regular-season games, but he couldn’t get his team past the Wild Card round of the playoffs despite ending the season healthy and being a 4,000+ yard passer.

Dak Prescott, Quarterback, Dallas Cowboys

• Average Annual Salary: $31.41 million
• Total Money Guaranteed: $31.41 million

Dak Prescott 2020 Odds

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Depending on the kind of 2020 season Dak Prescott and his Dallas Cowboys have, it could be a huge payday for the fifth-year player, or if the team continues its downward spiral despite new coach Mike McCarthy’s efforts, it could also mean walking papers.

Until then, Prescott will play under the franchise tag and make $31.41 million in 2020, not a bad deal unless serious injury or disastrous play ruins his chances of a huge payday with owner Jerry Jones once again.

Matt Ryan, Quarterback, Atlanta Falcons

• Average Annual Salary: $30 million
• Total Money Guaranteed: $94.5 million

Matt Ryan 2020 Odds

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4x Pro Bowler and former NFL MVP Matt Ryan have been in the league since 2008, and in 2018 he and the Atlanta Falcons signed a five-year contract worth $150 million, with $100 million of that money totally guaranteed.

Ryan and the team have posted two 7-9 seasons in a row ever since, and that’s despite the veteran quarterback having productive seasons and throwing the ball well, the entire franchise needing desperately to return to the Super Bowl after Tom Brady and his (then) Patriots blew them out 23-7 back in 2017.

Ryan Tannehill, Quarterback, Tennessee Titans

• Average Annual Salary: $45 million
• Total Money Guaranteed: $63.1 million

Ryan Tannehill 2020 Odds

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Last year’s comeback player of the year, Pro Bowler Ryan Tannehill, brought his Tennessee Titans to the AFC Championship Game (spoiler: they lost to the eventual Champs, the KC Chiefs) and was the NFL passer rating league leader at 117.5.

Just this last March, Tannehill and the Titans signed a four-year extension to his contract that was worth $118 million, with $62 million of that total money guaranteed, the team hoping for another return to glory in 2020.