The highest-paid defensive player in the league this season is not T.J. Watt, Nick Bosa, or reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett. It’s “The Condor.” Maxx Crosby signed a four-year extension last season worth $95 million. Because he was the next one up on the defensive totem pole, the Raiders are making their dominant edge defender the highest-paid defensive player for the 2024 season.
If you’re surprised with the way Tyreek Hill’s contract looks right now, just wait — he could be getting even more in the near future. With Justin Jefferson shattering the NFL record books for a contract extension worth over $35 million in annual averages, Hill’s camp is already working to get an extension done with the Dolphins this offseason. The good news for Hill is that he is the highest-paid pass catcher this season earning over $30 million in his own right for 2024.
The highest-paid non-quarterback on this list belongs to the All-Pro left tackle for the San Francisco 49ers, Trent Williams. The future Hall-of-Famer signed a six-year, $138.06 million in 2021 with the 49ers and is now the league’s highest-paid player outside of the quarterback position. His $31.56 million cap hit this season is almost $6 million more than the next player at his position (Laremy Tunsil) and $2 million more than the tackle role entirely (Taylor Moton).
Lamar Jackson’s time as the highest-paid quarterback in league history only lasted a few months. Now, he’ll have to settle for the seventh-highest cap charge in the NFL entering 2024. The league’s reigning MVP is just a year removed from signing his five-year, $260 million contract with the Ravens and leading them to the AFC Title game. Jackson will carry a cap charge of over $30 million but has allowed Baltimore to continue adding to its already elite roster.
Last season, Patrick Mahomes was celebrating a Super Bowl victory as the NFL’s highest-paid player. Now? He’s a three-time Super Bowl champion who is the sixth-highest-paid player in the NFL. Mahomes’ historic 10-year, $450 million contract essentially keeps him in Kansas City for the rest of his career as he chases all-time greats in front of him. A reworked part of his deal allows him to also make a combined $200 million between 2023-26. Life is good for the league’s best quarterback.
Surprise! Who predicted Daniel Jones would be on this list at all? Jokes aside, Jones is entering a make-or-break season just two years removed from signing his four-year, $160 million with New York after leading the Giants to a playoff berth in 2022. Since then, however, disaster has struck for the Giants’ quarterback. Jones carries an out in his contract after this season that will most assuredly be used by New York’s front office unless the former sixth-overall pick comes off his ACL injury and plays the best football of his career. Not the best situation to be in for both sides.
The Cardinals may be in the early stages of a rebuild, but they are not paying their starting quarterback like they are in one. Kyler Murray is in the middle of a five-year, $230.5 million contract signed with the Cardinals during the 2022 offseason that made him one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the game. This was coming off a playoff season for Arizona. But now that the Cardinals have started from scratch, they can afford to make Murray the fourth-highest-paid player in the game.
When healthy, there’s no debate that Matthew Stafford is one of the best quarterbacks in all of football. That’s why the Rams continue to pay him as one of the best. Stafford signed a four-year, $160 million extension with the Rams in 2021 and has three years left on his deal. That means the $49.5 million he earns this season could be the lowest his number is over the next few seasons, especially now that Aaron Donald has retired for Los Angeles on the defensive side of the ball.
Dak Prescott is another name on this list who may not be here for long. The quarterback has been with the Cowboys now for nine seasons. He just signed an extension before this year and is carrying a whopping $55 million in salary cap charges. The Cowboys are trying to negotiate a long-term deal, but the longer this goes on, the longer Prescott’s salary becomes an albatross of sorts for Dallas’ chances at competing for a Super Bowl.
Deshaun Watson’s unprecedented five-year, fully guaranteed $230 million contract with the Browns continues to be the barometer for the quarterback position and contracts in general. Ever since then, organizations have tried to scale back other quarterbacks’ demands for fully guaranteed contracts throughout the league. Watson’s $63.77 cap hit is the highest in NFL history and shows that with the growing NFL revenue stream, the contracts are only going to increase in the future.
