The Highest-Paid Players In NFL History
Lifetime Earnings: $174.1 million
Average Yearly Earnings: $11.6 million
From here on out, the list is all quarterbacks. Carson Palmer earned about $12.4 million per year during his 14 seasons as an NFL starter, spending time with three different teams. Despite being surrounded by great wide receivers — including Larry Fitzgerald and Chad Johnson — at every stop, Palmer only managed to put together a dismal 1-3 career record in the playoffs. He also only made three Pro Bowls and was never selected to an All-Pro team. But none of that hurt his career earnings, which made him the 10th highest-paid player in pro football history.
Lifetime Earnings: $174.6 million
Average Yearly Earnings: $11.8 million
Joe Flacco’s status as an elite NFL quarterback has long been a subject for debate among football fans — but his status as a huge earner is not up for discussion. Before being traded to the Denver Broncos in early 2019, Flacco spent 11 seasons as the starter for the Baltimore Ravens, leading them to a Super Bowl win in 2012 and posting an overall 10-5 record in the playoffs. Astoundingly, he’s never been selected for a Pro Bowl or an All-Pro team and has never led the league in any passing statistic, good or bad. But he stands tall among the game’s highest-paid quarterbacks ever, largely because of his consistency as a winner.
Lifetime Earnings: $180.6 million
Average Yearly Earnings: $10.6 million
The highest-paid wide receiver in history, nobody can argue that Larry Fitzgerald hasn’t earned every cent of his $163.2 million in career NFL earnings. In 15 seasons so far, all spent with the Arizona Cardinals, Fitzgerald has made 11 Pro Bowls yet somehow only one first-team All-Pro squad. He’s twice led the league in touchdown catches and once in total receptions, but perhaps his most incredible stat is that he’s only missed eight starts in his career, which has included 234 games played as of 2019.
Lifetime Earnings: $189.7 million
Average Yearly Earnings: $11.9 million
Despite a history of injury issues — including a gruesome one that ended his 2018 season too early — Alex Smith has made himself into one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in NFL history. In 14 seasons with three different teams so far, Smith has been to the playoffs five times, putting together a lackluster 2-5 record. The former top overall draft pick has never been an All-Pro selection and has made just three Pro Bowls but he continues to command major salaries as a starter.
Lifetime Earnings: $244 million
Average Yearly Earnings: $14.3 million
Another member of that stellar 2004 NFL Draft class that ranks in the top 10 on this list, Philip Rivers has raked in more than $200 million so far and is showing no signs of age. In 15 seasons, all for the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers, Rivers has never missed a game since being named the team’s starter in 2006. Rivers is an eight-time Pro Bowler but has never made an All-Pro squad and has never played in the Super Bowl. But his regular-season statistics have virtually ensured him a spot in the Hall of Fame. Ask any Chargers fan and they’d likely tell you he’s worth every cent the franchise has ever given him.
Lifetime Earnings: $248.7 million
Average Yearly Earnings: $13.8 million
If you asked 10 random people to name an NFL player, chances are a few of them would give you Peyton Manning despite the fact he hasn’t played a down in four years. It makes sense that Manning is the highest-paid player in football history because he’s arguably the game’s most famous, beloved and respected figure ever. He torched NFL record books during his 18-year career, which included just 17 seasons of play, due to a severe neck injury sidelining him in 2011. Manning won two Super Bowls, retiring in epic fashion after his second one, which came with the Denver Broncos. If you counted his many lucrative endorsement deals, Manning’s career earnings would be even more staggering.
Lifetime Earnings: $252.3 million
Average Yearly Earnings: $15.8 million
It seems unfair that Eli Manning has collected more money than contemporaries like Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers, in less playing time, but that’s the cold truth. The oft-maligned New York Giants quarterback has a career record of 116-114 as a starter in his 15 seasons played thus far. However, Manning has earned his money in the playoffs, where he has an 8-4 career record, including two Super Bowl wins over Brady’s New England Patriots. Has Manning proven to be worth roughly $16 million a year for his entire career? It depends on which Giants fan you ask.
Lifetime Earnings: $267.3 million
Average Yearly Earnings: $14.8 million
In 15 seasons as an NFL starter, all with the Pittsburgh Steelers, “Big Ben” has earned his place near the top of this list by consistently leading his team to the top of the league. He’s won two Super Bowls and has led the Steelers to the playoffs 10 times, putting together a career record of 13-8 in the postseason. The future Hall of Famer has also been named to six Pro Bowls but has never been named a first-team All-Pro selection. Regardless, he’s managed to put together one of the biggest bank statements in NFL history.
Lifetime Earnings: $270 million
Average Yearly Earnings: $13.5 million
Further proof that longevity and consistent winning can be the recipe for massive earnings in pro football, Drew Brees remains one of the NFL’s top quarterbacks after 18 seasons in the league. He’s a 12-time Pro Bowler, former first-team All-Pro selection, and he won a Super Bowl in 2009 with the New Orleans Saints, the team he’s played for since 2006. At 40 years old, it remains to be seen how many more years Brees will be adding to his lifetime earnings total, but after the incredible season he had in 2018, it seems he won’t be retiring anytime soon.
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