In the NFL, the bar is always rising. Each offseason, superstars reset the market, altering the salaries that the best players at each respective position expect to receive. 

Pittsburgh Steelers icon T.J. Watt is the latest to do so after signing a whopping three-year, $123-million extension with the franchise on July 17 that made the veteran linebacker the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. 

Earlier this week, the New York Jets‘ Sauce Gardner signed a four-year, $120.4 million extension that made him the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL. 

Previously, the Philadelphia Eagles‘ Saquon Barkley  became the highest-paid running back of all time, agreeing to a two-year extension worth $41 million. Then, Maxx Crosby not only became the highest-paid defensive player, but he also became the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. He only held that title for a few days, however, until Myles Garrett‘s deal surpassed his. Cleveland gave Garrett a mega-deal worth $160 million with an average annual salary of $40 million. A few weeks later, Ja’Marr Chase‘s new contract topped Garrett’s, with the receiver now earning an average of $40.25 million per year. 

Those might not be the only ones when this offseason is said and done. Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons could be the next candidate to become the highest-paid player at his position. 

That said, here are the NFL’s highest-paid players per average annual value (AAV), via Spotrac.

Prescott became the NFL’s highest-paid player when he signed his extension on the eve of the Cowboys’ Week 1 game against the Browns last season. The four-year, $240 million deal was the culmination of an awkward offseason in which Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was wishy-washy about paying Prescott. 

Prescott earned his long-term deal after the best season of his career in 2023, when he completed a career-high 69.5% of his passes and threw a league-leading 36 touchdowns. His completion percentage dropped to 64.7 across the first eight games of the 2024 season before missing the final nine games with a partially torn hamstring. 

The value of running backs is constantly being disputed and Barkley did a lot to help his peers, and himself, out. Barkley was rewarded with a two-year, $41 million extension after winning NFL Offensive Player of the Year in his first year with the Eagles. The New York Giants didn’t want to pay Barkley after six seasons with the team, so the Eagles took advantage of that, scooping him up in free agency last offseason. Now, they’ve doubled-down on their investment, locking up Barkley after he rushed for a career-high 2,005 yards and 13 touchdowns during the regular season and helped them win Super Bowl LIX.

After waiting on a new deal since the beginning of the 2024 season, Chase finally got the contract he was waiting for — signing a four-year deal worth $161 million with $112 million guaranteed. This made him the second highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history; TJ Watt took the top spot with his new extension. He is also the first receiver ever to eclipse $40 million a year on an annual average. Chase earned the deal after a stellar 2024 campaign, having become the fifth receiver since the merger to lead the league in all three receiving categories — joining Jerry Rice (1990), Sterling Sharpe (1992), Steve Smith Sr. (2005) and Cooper Kupp (2021). Since he entered the league in 2021, no player has caught more touchdowns than Chase (46 receiving touchdowns). 

A few days after the 2025 NFL Draft ended, Kittle agreed to a four-year, $76.4 million extension with the 49ers. His new deal is worth an average of $19.1 million, surpassing the contract Trey McBride ($19M AAV) signed with the Arizona Cardinals earlier in April. 

The 31-year-old Kittle is the only remaining player from San Francisco’s 2017 draft class, the first with head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch. Since the 49ers drafted him in the fifth round that year, Kittle has been one of the top tight ends in the league. 

In his eight seasons, he’s been a dependable receiver and blocker for the Niners offense. He’s made an All-Pro team five times and earned six Pro Bowl nods, totaling 538 receptions for 7,380 yards and 45 touchdowns.

Kittle is coming off his fourth season, and second straight, with at least 1K receiving yards. He had 78 catches for 1,106 yards and eight touchdowns in 2024, leading the 49ers in each category.

Wirfs signed a five-year, $140.6 million deal last summer to become the highest-paid offensive tackle, whether it’s the right or left side. Wirfs, though, plays both sides of the line and does so at a high level. In fact, he became the first player ever to be named a first-team All-Pro at both left and right tackle. 

Wirfs earned the highest pass-blocking grade of any offensive lineman in 2024 at 94.1, including the postseason, and allowed zero sacks and just one QB hit, per Pro Football Focus. Wirfs also won Super Bowl LV with the Buccaneers. 

Despite being one of two NFL players to receive the franchise tag this offseason, Smith is set to be the highest-paid offensive guard on the one-year tender. He and the Chiefs could still agree on a long-term deal before the July 15 deadline, though.

Smith played 1,288 snaps at the right guard spot and gave up just one sack, according to PFF. Joe Thuney and Nick Allegretti were the only guards to play more snaps than he did this past season. 

Humphrey, Smith’s neighbor on the offensive line, had PFF’s highest pass-blocking grade of any center in 2024 at 91.5, including the postseason. He allowed zero sacks and just two QB hits. In two of his four NFL seasons, he did not allow a sack — and has surrendered just seven in his career, per PFF. The Humphrey and Smith tandem was crucial to the Chiefs’ Super Bowl victories in the 2022 and 2023 seasons, and their contracts are vital to the team’s long-term success. 

Garrett was the highest-paid non-quarterback of all-time before Ja’Marr Chase signed his deal, signing a contract worth $160 million, including $123.5 million in guarantees, per FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz.

The extension came more than a month after the Browns’ star pass-rusher had requested a trade. Cleveland’s front office, though, was adamant that Garrett would not be dealt. In the end, both sides came to an agreement to keep the 2023 AP Defensive Player of the Year in Ohio.

The Browns selected Garrett with the first pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. Since then, he has lived up to the hype, with a franchise-high 102.5 sacks. He’s been named a first-team All-Pro four times and has made six Pro Bowls. In 2024, he led the Browns with 14 sacks and a league-leading 22 tackles for loss, but they went just 3-14. Garrett has only played in three postseason games in his eight seasons in Cleveland.

Jones became the highest-paid defensive tackle when he agreed to a five-year, $158.75 million deal to remain in Kansas City during the 2024 offseason.

The Chiefs star certainly made a strong claim to earn the title of highest-paid player at his position. The six-time Pro Bowler and three-time first-team All-Pro has recorded at least nine sacks in five of the last seven seasons, helping Kansas City win three Super Bowls during that time.

Jones had 37 total tackles and five sacks over 15 games this past season. While his box score stats might not pop out, Jones led all defensive tackles in pass-rush win rate (16%) and was second in pressures (74) at the position, per PFF.

Proven to be a true game-wrecker, Watt waited in long negotiation talks with the Steelers, and it paid off in a big way. Last year, Watt led the league with six forced fumbles and was eighth in sacks with 11.5. The four-time All-Pro and 2021 AP Defensive Player of the Year has led the league in sacks in three seasons, tying Michael Strahan’s single-season sack record in 2021 with 22.5. On July 17, Watt became the highest-paid non-QB in NFL history with a three-year, $123-million extension.

Of the defensive positions, inside linebacker has the cheapest average annual value contract leader. Still, Warner is making a pretty penny. He reached a three-year, $63 million extension ($56 million guaranteed) when he re-signed with the 49ers in May 2025. Warner is one of the longest-tenured 49ers, having played seven seasons with the team since he was drafted in 2018. 

He is arguably the NFL’s best inside linebacker, and if not, he’s at least the most consistent. He’s been named to three consecutive All-Pro teams and was the engine of San Francisco’s defense during its run to Super Bowl LVIII. He’s also recorded at least 118 total tackles in each season of his career.

While Smith has never led the league in tackles, he’s finished in the top 10 five times and has finished in the top five in run stops three times, per PFF.

CB: Sauce Gardner, New York Jets ($30.1 million AAV)

After three consecutive  years of making NFL All-Pro teams, first-team in 2022 and 2023, Gardner gets his extension with the Jets, making him the highest paid corner in the NFL. Many talked about his down year in 2024, only grabbing one interception and fewer deflections. After one “down” year the Jets still believe in the young, superbly talented corner and believe he is set for a bounce back year.

Joseph has been an integral part of Detroit’s defense since his 2022 rookie campaign. Following back-to-back seasons with four interceptions, Joseph led the NFL with nine picks in 2024, helping him earn All-Pro honors. Furthermore, Joseph ranked first among safeties in overall grade (90.4) and coverage grade (91.1), according to Pro Football Focus.

Now, he’s the highest-paid safety in the sport, as Joseph inked a four-year, $86 million extension with the Lions, according to FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz.

After helping the Chiefs win a third Super Bowl during the 2023 season, Butker received a record-setting contract. He signed a four-year, $25.6 million deal in August 2024.

Butker has actually never been named a Pro Bowler or All-Pro, but he’s been one of the NFL’s most accurate kickers since joining the Chiefs in 2017. He led the league in points in 2019, while his 88.6 field goal made percentage is the second-best mark in league history. He’s made some pretty clutch kicks as well, draining a memorable field goal at the buzzer to send the divisional-round game against the Buffalo Bills to overtime in January 2022 and breaking the record for the longest made field goal in a Super Bowl in the Chiefs’ win over the 49ers in February 2024.

P: AJ Cole, Las Vegas Raiders ($3.95 million AAV)

Michael Dickson of the Seattle Seahawks had been the highest-paid punter since 2021, but Cole replaced him when he signed a four-year extension with the Raiders on May 26, 2025. 

Even though Dickson hasn’t been named an All-Pro or Pro Bowler during the duration of the contract, the deal has aged well. He’s third all-time in yards per punt (48.2), finishing in the top 10 in the stat in each of the last three seasons.

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