Highest-paid NFL players in 2026
The 2026/27 season of the National Football League fully commenced in stadiums across the United States. America. The NFL is the most popular sports league in the country, ahead of Major League Baseball and the National Basketball League.
In the NFL, each of the league’s 32 teams is allowed to carry 53 players on its active roster, bringing the total to 1,696 players. Each team can also maintain a 16-player practice squad, bringing the total to 512 practice-squad players.
As the new season begins, here are some of the highest-paid players among the league’s 2,000+ players for 2026.
Patrick Mahomes
The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback is the highest-paid player in the NFL this year, earning a whopping $63.1 million. Mahomes is currently on eight eight-year, $504.7 million with the team.
Mahomes has won three Super Bowl titles, three Super Bowl Most Valuable Player awards and three NFL Most Valuable Player honours, making him a future first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Dak Prescott
The 33-year-old is the NFL’s second-highest-paid player, at $60 million per year. The Dallas Cowboy is on a four-year, $240 million contract. Prescott has been with the Cowboys since he was drafted in 2026.
Matthew Stafford, Josh Allen, Jordan Love, Trevor Lawrence, Joe Burrow and Baker Mayfield
The six quarterbacks are on the same salary and would earn $55 million in 2026. However, they are on different contract lengths. Stafford (Los Angeles Rams) is on a one-year contract, while Love (Green Bay Packers) is on a $220 million, four-year deal.
Both Lawrence (Jacksonville Jaguars) and Burrow (Cincinnati Bengals) are on five-year, $275 million deals; Allen (Buffalo Bills) is on a six-year, $330 million contract, while Mayfield has a three-year contract of $165 million with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Brock Purdy (San Francisco 49ers) and Jared Goff (Detroit Lions)
The two quarterbacks occupy the ninth and 10th positions on the highest-paid list. They are both on $53 million per year contracts, with Purdy’s deal estimated to be $265 million for five years and the deal being $212 million for four years in Goff’s case.
Purdy’s case is unique as he became the highest-paid last-round draft player (Mr Irrelevant) when he signed his latest contract in 2025.
He led the 49ers to Super Bowl LVIII after the 2023 season, becoming the lowest-drafted quarterback ever to start a Super Bowl.
Other highest-paid players this year include Justin Herbert ($52.5 million), Lamar Jackson ($52 million), Jalen Hurts ($51 million), Will Anderson Jr ($50 million) and Micah Parsons ($46.5 million).
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