The wait is over, with the 2024 NFL season set to kickoff on Thursday night.
We’ve gone through an offseason full of huge contract renewals, new faces in new places and plenty of drama. That’ s why we’re going to parse through what’s taken place and bring you the five highest paid players in the league.
It is worth remembering that this start of the season will be marked by the record figure of $12.4 billion that has been moved between franchises, that is, about $2 billion more than the figure moved in the summer of 2022.
As always, quarterbacks are the most famed and highest-ranked on this list, which starts with:
5. Justin Herbert ($66.6 million)
At 26 years old, the Los Angeles Chargers quarterback ranks fifth in the league, earning $56.6 million on the field and $10 million off the field.
Having renewed in 2023, this year he will receive all the bonuses from last year, where he completed 1,500 successful passes in his 57th game, becoming the fastest player in NFL history to reach the milestone, ahead of Patrick Mahomes and Matthew Stafford, who took 62 games to do so.
His 17,223 passing yards are the most in a player’s first four seasons, surpassing Peyton Manning’s 16,418. In addition, Herbert is also a budding star off the field, appearing in commercials for SoFi or TCL.
4. Joe Burrow ($69.7 million)
Known as “the pianist” of the NFL due to his wrist injury healing while learning to play the piano, the 27-year-old Cincinnati Bengals player will be paid $65.7 million as a player, while off the field he will earn an extra $4 million.
The quarterback, who missed last season due to the aforementioned injury, wasted no time and, in addition to gaining muscle mass, he also got one of the most lucrative contracts by switching from Nike to Alo Yoga.
3. Jordan Love ($80.5 million)
A first-round pick in the 2020 draft, 25-year-old Jordan Love will pocket $79 million as the Green Bay Packers’ quarterback and $1.5 million more off the field. Love was Aaron Rodgers’ replacement for three seasons, racking up 4,159 yards and 32 touchdowns as the Packers’ starting quarterback. He currently has four years remaining on his contract.
2. Patrick Mahomes ($81 million)
He may be the quintessential NFL star now that Tom Brady is watching the game from a commentator’s position, but that hasn’t helped him earn the league’s biggest contract of all.
The 28-year-old Mahomes will be paid $56 million as a Kansas City Chiefs player and $25 million for all other advertising and image contracts, including a deal with Prime beverages in December after his previous sponsor, BioSteel, filed for bankruptcy last September. Mahomes also has a stake in Throne Sport Coffee as the company’s second-largest shareholder, and was a producer of the Netflix documentary series Receiver.
As Mahomes seeks a third straight Super Bowl title, and fourth overall, the question is when the Chiefs will give him a raise. “I’m doing pretty good myself,” he recently said of his numbers to USA TODAY.
1. Jared Goff ($85.6 million)
At 29 years old, the Detroit Lions quarterback ranks at the top of this list with $80.6 million as a player and $5 million off the field. After leading the Lions to their first playoffs in seven years, Goff received a four-year contract renewal last May.
His signing bonus was an NFL-record $73 million for two months, until Jordan Love eclipsed him with $75 million from the Packers. Goff complements his income with endorsements from brands such as Ford, Old Spice and Jared Jewelers, although he is also known for two houses in Manhattan Beach, California, for $10.5 million and $8.6 million.