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The NFL's highest-paid players at every position: Here's who makes the most money, from QB to punter

We have seen a fair share of massive contracts in the NFL. So who tops the highest-paid list at every position as of today?

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Who are the NFL's highest-paid players at every position? Plenty of record-setting deals have been made in the past year -- the quarterback position has been reset with a new highest-paid player four times. First Jalen Hurts, then Lamar Jackson and Justin Herbert and finally Joe Burrow became the highest-paid player in NFL history as the 2023 season kicked off. 

In August, Minnesota Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson reset the tight end market and San Francisco 49ers DE Nick Bosa became the highest-paid defensive player. And now with 2024 free agency underway, Chris Jones became the highest-paid defensive tackle.

We tracked the best-paid players at 16 different positions -- including long-snapper -- and will keep the numbers updated as more records get broken. To get the full picture on the top earners in this league, we sorted positions by two categories, which in a few cases have the same player at No. 1:

Three-year average (APY) Total guaranteed money

Salary information courtesy of Roster Management System. 

Let's start with Burrow and the highest-paid quarterbacks:

Jump to: QB | RB | WR | TE  OT | OG | OC | EDGE  DT | LB | CB | S   K | LS | P

Quarterback

Highest three-year APY:

1. Joe Burrow, $62.9 million

Signed: September 2023 (contract ends in 2030)

2. Justin Herbert (LAC), $53.3 million 3. Lamar Jackson (BAL), $52 million 4. Jalen Hurts (PHI), $51 million 5. Patrick Mahomes (KC), $50.5 million

Total guaranteed money:

1. Deshaun Watson, $230 million

Signed: March 2022 (contract ends in 2027)

2. Joe Burrow (CIN), $219.01 million 3. Patrick Mahomes (KC), $208.1 million 4. Justin Herbert (LAC), $193.7 million 5. Kyler Murray (ARI), $189.5 million 6. Lamar Jackson (BAL), $185 million

Running back

Highest three-year APY:

1. Christian McCaffrey, $17.2 million

Signed: April 2020 (contract ends in 2026)

2. Jonathan Taylor (IND), $14 million 3. Alvin Kamara (NO), $12.7 million 4. Saquon Barkley (PHI), $12.6 million

Total guaranteed money:

1. Christian McCaffrey, $36.3 million

Signed: April 2020 (contract ends in 2026)

2. Alvin Kamara (NO), $34.3 million 3. Jonathan Taylor (IND), $26.5 million 4. Saquon Barkley (PHI), $26 million

Wide receiver

Highest three-year APY:

1. A.J. Brown, $32 million 

Signed: April 2024 (contract ends in 2028)

2. Amon-Ra St. Brown (DET), $30 million 3. Cooper Kupp (LAR), $26.7 million 4. Stefon Diggs (HOU), $26.2 million  5. Tyreek Hill (MIA), $25 million

Total guaranteed money:

1. A.J. Brown, $84 million 

Signed: April 2024 (contract ends in 2028)

2. Amon-Ra St. Brown (DET), $77 million 3. Cooper Kupp (LAR), $75 million 4. Tyreek Hill (MIA), $72.2 million 5. Stefon Diggs (HOU), $70 million

Tight end

Highest three-year APY:

1. Travis Kelce, $17.1 million 

Signed: April 2024 (contract ends in 2025)

2. Darren Waller (NYG), $17 million 3. T.J. Hockenson (MIN), $16 million 4. George Kittle (SF), $15.3 million

Total guaranteed money:

1. T.J. Hockenson, $42.5 million

Signed: August 2023 (contract ends in 2027)

2. George Kittle (SF), $40 million 3. Mark Andrews (BAL), $37.6 million

Offensive tackle

Highest three-year APY:

1. Penei Sewell, $28 million 

Signed: April 2024 (contract ends in 2029)

2. Laremy Tunsil (HOU), $25 million 3. Andrew Thomas (NYG), $24.2 million 4. Ronnie Stanley (BAL), $21.2 million

Total guaranteed money:

1. Penei Sewell, $85 million 

Signed: April 2024 (contract ends in 2029)

2. Ronnie Stanley (BAL), $64.1 million 3. Andrew Thomas (NYG), $61.9 million 4. Ryan Ramczyk (NO), $60.2 million

Guard

Highest three-year APY:

1. Chris Lindstrom, $21.8 million

Signed: March 2023 (contract ends in 2028)

2. Robert Hunt (CAR), $21 million 3. Quenton Nelson (IND), $20.9 million 4. Mike Onwenu (NE), $19 million

Total guaranteed money:

1. Robert Hunt, $63 million

Signed: March 2024 (contract ends in 2028)

2. Chris Lindstrom (ATL), $62.7 million 3. Quenton Nelson (IND), $60 million

Center

Highest three-year APY:

1. Frank Ragnow, $14 million

Signed: May 2021 (contract ends in 2026)

2. Lloyd Cushenberry (TEN), $12.6 million 3. Erik McCoy (NO), $12.5 million 4. Ryan Kelly (IND), $12.4 million

Total guaranteed money:

1. Frank Ragnow, $42 million

Signed: May 2021 (contract ends in 2026)

2. Ryan Kelly (IND), $34 million 3. Erik McCoy (NO), $33 million 4. Lloyd Cushenberry (TEN), $30 million

Cornerback

Highest three-year APY:

1. Jaire Alexander, $21.8 million

Signed: May 2022 (contract ends in 2027)

2. Jalen Ramsey (MIA), $20.6 million 3. Marshon Lattimore (NO), $20.3 million

Total guaranteed money:

1. Denzel Ward, $71.25 million

Signed: April 2022 (contract ends in 2028)

2. Jalen Ramsey (MIA), $71.2 million 3. Marshon Lattimore (NO), $68.3 million

Safety

Highest three-year APY:

1. Derwin James Jr., $19.6 million

Signed: August 2022 (contract ends in 2026)

2. Minkah Fitzpatrick (PIT), $18.6 million 3. Xavier McKinney (GB), $16.7 million

Total guaranteed money:

1. Derwin James Jr., $42 million

Signed: August 2022 (contract ends in 2026)

T2. Minkah Fitzpatrick (PIT), $36 million T2. Jessie Bates III (ATL), $36 million

Edge rusher

Highest three-year APY:

1. Nick Bosa, $34.7 million

Signed: September 2023 (contract ends in 2029)

2. T.J. Watt (PIT), $30.5 million T3. Josh Allen (JAX), $30 million T3. Brian Burns (NYG), $30 million 4. Myles Garrett (CLE), $26.7 million 

Total guaranteed money:

1. Nick Bosa, $119.9 million

Signed: September 2023 (contract ends in 2029)

2. Myles Garrett (CLE), $100 million 3. Josh Allen (JAX), $88 million 4. Brian Burns (NYG), $87.5 million

Defensive tackle

Highest three-year APY:

1. Chris Jones, $31.7 millon 

Signed: March 2024 (contract ends in 2028)

2. Aaron Donald (LAR), $31.6 million 3. Christian Wilkins (LV), $28 million 4. Derrick Brown (CAR), $24 million

Total guaranteed money:

1. Chris Jones, $101 million 

Signed: March 2024 (contract ends in 2028)

2. Christian Wilkins (LV), $82.7 million 3. Quinnen Williams (NYJ), $66 million 4. Aaron Donald (LAR), $65 million

Off-ball linebacker

Highest three-year APY:

1. Roquan Smith, $20 million

Signed: January 2023 (contract ends 2027)

2. Fred Warner (SF), $19.5 million 3. Tremaine Edmunds (CHI), $19 million

Total guaranteed money:

1. Roquan Smith, $60 million

Signed: January 2023 (contract ends 2027)

2. C.J. Mosley (NYJ), $51 million 3. Tremaine Edmunds (CHI), $45 million

Kicker

Highest three-year APY:

1. Justin Tucker, $6.2 million

Signed: August 2022 (contract ends in 2027)

2. Matt Gay (IND), $5.9 million 3. Chris Boswell (PIT), $5.6 million

Total guaranteed money:

1. Justin Tucker, $17.5 million

Signed: August 2022 (contract ends in 2027)

2. Graham Gano (NYG), $13.2 million 2. Matt Gay (IND), $13 million

Long-snapper

Highest three-year APY:

1. Luke Rhodes, $1.67 million

Signed: September 2023 (contract ends 2027)

2. Joe Cardona (NE), $1.63 million  3. Zach Wood (NO), $1.62 million

Total guaranteed money:

1. Tyler Ott, $2.8 million

Signed: March 2024 (contract ends 2026)

2. Thomas Hennessy, $2.62 million 3.Joe Cardona (NE), $2.6 million

Punter

Highest three-year APY:

1. Michael Dickson, $3.9 million

Signed: June 2021 (contract ends in 2025)

2. Jack Fox (DET), $3.6 million 3. Tress Way (WSH), $3.3 million

Total guaranteed money:

1. Michael Dickson, $8.5 million

Signed: June 2021 (contract ends in 2025)

2. Jack Fox (DET), $7.5 million 2. Tress Way (WSH), $6.4 million