Patrick Mahomes can add a crown to his collection of Super Bowl rings, as the leader of ten football stars hauling in an estimated $571 million combined this year.
After an off-season of acrimony with the Dallas Cowboys that ended last month with a blockbuster trade to the Green Bay Packers, defensive end Micah Parsons has a new four-year deal that sets NFL contract records for total value ($188 million), average annual value ($47 million) and guaranteed money ($136 million)—for a non-quarterback.
That last qualifier is important because, as well paid as the 26-year-old edge rusher is about to be, football’s most important position remains in control of the financial huddle, claiming eight of the ten spots on this year’s list of the NFL’s highest-paid players. The ranking has now featured at least eight quarterbacks for four straight seasons.
Parsons lands at No. 6 overall, due to make an estimated $48.2 million during the 2025 league year, including endorsements, licensing, memorabilia and other business endeavors in addition to his playing salary and signing bonus. Travis Kelce, who these days is perhaps better known as Taylor Swift’s fiancé but in his day job still suits up as a tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs, is the only other non-quarterback to make the 2025 list, coming in at No. 8 with an estimated $47.3 million before taxes and agent fees.
At the top of the earnings ranking this year is Kelce’s teammate Patrick Mahomes, who claims the No. 1 spot for the first time ever with an estimated $78 million. The two Chiefs stars also lead the rest of the NFL by a considerable margin off the field, where Mahomes, with the sport’s best array of sponsorships, is collecting an estimated $28 million and Kelce is hauling in an estimated $30 million, thanks in large part to his New Heights podcast. (The two longtime teammates will soon open a restaurant together in Kansas City, a steakhouse named 1587 Prime in a combination of their uniform numbers.)
Together, the NFL’s ten highest-paid players this season are set to bring in $571 million—down 18% from last year’s record $693 million but still the second-highest total in the 16-year history of Forbes’ NFL ranking, comfortably ahead of 2023’s next-best $508 million.
The top of the list accounts for much of that drop, with Mahomes followed by the Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen at $73 million and the Los Angeles Chargers’ Justin Herbert at $71 million, a year after four quarterbacks topped $80 million. However, the cutoff for the top ten is $47 million, in line with 2024’s and up 53% in just four years.
Because the ranking is so quarterback-centric, it also doesn’t capture the pay growth happening elsewhere around the league. For instance, this off-season featured record contracts (in terms of average annual value) at running back, wide receiver, tight end, offensive tackle, guard, cornerback, safety, punter and long snapper, in addition to Parsons’ deal, according to Spotrac. In all, the contract database has tracked a record $26.8 billion in new deals in 2025, including free agents, draft picks and extensions, and the salary cap has jumped $23.8 million, to $279.2 million, as the NFL continues to set new revenue highs.
Allen, the Bills’ star quarterback, had the largest contract of the off-season, worth $330 million over six years, and Brock Purdy signed a five-year, $265 million extension with the San Francisco 49ers that left him just shy of the sport’s top ten earners. But many of football’s other marquee quarterbacks received new deals in either 2023 or 2024, including the Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe Burrow, the Detroit Lions’ Jared Goff, the Chargers’ Herbert, the Philadelphia Eagles’ Jalen Hurts, the Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson, the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence, the Packers’ Jordan Love, the Cowboys’ Dak Prescott and the Miami Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa.
With the NFL earnings ranking often dictated by signing bonuses—a hefty one-time payout that comes soon after the ink on a contract dries—the relative lack of quarterback transactions this year cleared a path to the top for Mahomes, the ranking’s runner-up in each of the past two seasons.
The three-time Super Bowl MVP, who turns 30 this month, agreed to a record-setting ten-year, $450 million extension in 2020, but after the recent wave of signings, Mahomes is just 14th among quarterbacks with his contract’s average annual value of $45 million—$15 million behind the league-leading Prescott. The Chiefs reworked Mahomes’ deal in 2023 to move up some of the money he was due to receive, however, and he restructured the contract again in March to free up cap space for Kansas City. The result is that he is set to make $50 million on the field this season.
Coupled with his lucrative work as a pitchman, that was enough to make him the NFL’s highest-paid player. And he has a decent shot at becoming the list’s first repeat leader since Drew Brees in 2012 and 2013: Mahomes is scheduled to get a nearly $7 million raise with his salary and bonuses next year.
THE HIGHEST-PAID NFL PLAYERS 2025
#1. $78 million
Age: 29 | Position: Quarterback | Team: Kansas City Chiefs | On-Field: $50 million • Off-Field: $28 million
Aaron M. Sprecher/Getty Images
Last season, Mahomes missed out on a Pro Bowl selection for the first time since he took over as the Kansas City Chiefs’ starting quarterback in 2018, but he still reached the Super Bowl for the fifth time in six years. “I think [legacy is] always in the back of your mind, even from the beginning of my career,” he told Up & Adams this summer, adding that he had been getting advice from another quarterback with a pretty good résumé: seven-time champion Tom Brady. Mahomes is also padding his long list of sponsors, partnering with Airbnb and Hublot and agreeing to autograph Panini trading cards for the first time in five years. And Mahomes—whose many equity stakes include investments in MLB’s Kansas City Royals, Major League Soccer’s Sporting Kansas City, the National Women’s Soccer League’s Kansas City Current, Formula 1’s Alpine team and Major League Pickleball’s Miami franchise—is hoping to pick up another team as a sports owner. He was part of Kansas City’s recent bid for a WNBA expansion club, and while the slots were ultimately awarded to Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia, Mahomes’ Current co-owners Angie and Chris Long are continuing their push to bring women’s basketball to the city.
#2. $73 million
Age: 29 | Position: Quarterback | Team: Buffalo Bills | On-Field: $58 million • Off-Field: $15 million
Lauren Leigh Bacho/Getty Images
When Allen was asked last August about the new financial hierarchy among quarterbacks, with the average annual value of his contract down to 13th across the league, he smiled and said, “Listen, everyone’s going to have their day.” His ended up coming pretty quickly as the Buffalo Bills signed him to a six-year, $330 million deal in March coming off his MVP season. The contract set an NFL record for guaranteed money at $250 million and moved him into a tie for second with his average annual value of $55 million. The same month, Allen inked an overall deal to develop scripted, unscripted and branded content with Skydance Sports, and his busy off-season continued with an April investment in Cashmere’s venture capital fund. Then, in July, he expanded his partnership with hat maker New Era, becoming the company’s first ambassador to receive an equity stake, and after he teased a jump from Nike to New Balance during training camp, official word of the endorsement deal came last week, along with news he was taking on a role as Therabody’s performance advisor.
#3. $71 million
Age: 27 | Position: Quarterback | Team: Los Angeles Chargers | On-Field: $60 million • Off-Field: $11 million
Cooper Neill/Getty Images
Herbert is in his sixth season in the NFL, but just before he threw for 318 yards and three touchdowns on Friday in a Week 1 win over the Kansas City Chiefs, he made his first-ever appearance in a preseason game last month. The 27-year-old quarterback also changed things up during training camp when he wore red-tinted contact lenses to help him see better in the sunlight, in place of a visor that he tried a couple of years ago and didn’t like having to constantly clean. Herbert has a rosy outlook financially as well. He signed a five-year, $262.5 million contract with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2023 that came with a $45 million option bonus this year, on top of his $15 million salary, and he is due to collect another $162.5 million through 2029. Off the field, Herbert has long-term partnerships with brands including Callaway, Dr. Squatch soap and SoFi, the naming rights sponsor of his home stadium.
#4. $57.8 million
Age: 32 | Position: Quarterback | Team: Dallas Cowboys | On-Field: $47.8 million • Off-Field: $10 million
Cooper Neill/Getty Images
Two months after signing a four-year, $240 million contract extension that set NFL records for guaranteed money ($231 million), average annual value ($60 million) and signing bonus ($80 million), Prescott injured his hamstring in November, costing him the final nine games of the 2024 season. But the 32-year-old quarterback showed up to camp healthy and excited to try a new scheme under head coach Brian Schottenheimer, who was promoted from offensive coordinator in January and is moving away from the “Texas Coast” offense of his predecessor Mike McCarthy in favor of a system that emphasizes motion and shifts to deceive defenses. The early results weren’t ideal: In a Week 1 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles that kicked off Prescott’s tenth season in Dallas—making him the team’s longest-tenured player—he had no touchdowns and just 188 passing yards, plus a spitting incident. Prescott, who restructured his contract in March to open up salary cap room for the Cowboys, pads his considerable salary by working with more than a dozen brands, including AT&T, Blockchain.com and Nike’s Jordan Brand.
#5. $54.3 million
Age: 27 | Position: Quarterback | Team: Miami Dolphins | On-Field: $50.3 million • Off-Field: $4 million
Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
Tagovailoa signed a four-year, $212.4 million contract extension with the Dolphins in July 2024, and while his history of concussions might have some Miami fans holding their breath when he drops back to pass, the 27-year-old quarterback brushed off a couple of sacks he took in the preseason by saying: “It felt good to get hit again. Maybe that’s not what people want to hear, but as we’re getting ready and getting started to get back into the normal routine of what a season would feel like, it feels good to get out there, get sacked a little bit.” Tagovailoa also appears to have a rejuvenated target in wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who has been working to rebuild his relationship with his quarterback since removing himself from the Dolphins’ 2024 season finale and telling reporters he wanted to play elsewhere. “I think once people see Tyreek score on Sunday, everyone will forget about that,” Tagovailoa said last week. “We’re in a good spot, and we’ve been in a good spot for some time.” Tagovailoa supplements his on-field pay by endorsing more than ten brands, including Gatorade and Perry Ellis.
#6. $48.2 million
Age: 26 | Position: Defensive End | Team: Green Bay Packers | On-Field: $45.2 million • Off-Field: $3 million
Parsons wanted to stay with the Cowboys and wasn’t planning to sit out the season, his agent David Mulugheta recently told ESPN, but Dallas never ended up raising a five-year, $202.5 million offer it reportedly made early in the off-season and ultimately decided to trade him to the Packers instead, for defensive tackle Kenny Clark and first-round draft picks in 2026 and 2027. The four-year, $188 million deal Parsons then signed with Green Bay reset an edge-rusher market that had already rocketed up this year with landmark contracts for the Las Vegas Raiders’ Maxx Crosby (three years, $106.5 million), the Cleveland Browns’ Myles Garrett (four years, $160 million) and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ T.J. Watt (three years, $123 million). Off the field, Parsons is an ambassador for brands including Adidas, Jams peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and online casino business Product Madness, and he holds the title of president at Bleacher Report’s B/R Gridiron, where he has a podcast called The Edge.
#7. $47.5 million
Age: 27 | Position: Quarterback | Team: Philadelphia Eagles | On-Field: $42.5 million • Off-Field: $5 million
The Philadelphia Eagles gave Hurts a five-year, $255 million extension in 2023 and reaped the rewards last season when he led them to a Super Bowl victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, earning game MVP honors. With two rushing touchdowns in a Week 1 win over the Dallas Cowboys giving him 57 in the regular season for his career, Hurts is already third among quarterbacks all-time, behind only Cam Newton (75) and Josh Allen (65), and he ranks second across all positions since he was drafted in 2020, trailing just Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry (68). Hurts is also only the fifth quarterback ever to have started multiple Super Bowls before his 27th birthday. Despite that success—and his uncanny ability to convert first downs on quarterback sneaks, with a league-high 28 last season—Hurts actually dropped four spots in the NFL Network’s annual ranking of the league’s top 100 players, sliding to No. 19 overall. Marketers are finding plenty to appreciate about him, however. He recently added a partnership with Sprite to a stable that also includes Beats headphones, Breitling watches and Lincoln Financial Group, and he is the author of a children’s book with a release date in March from Penguin Random House’s Flamingo Books.
#8. $47.3 million
Age: 35 | Position: Tight End | Team: Kansas City Chiefs | On-Field: $17.3 million • Off-Field: $30 million
Tammy Ljungblad/The Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service/Getty Images
Forbes recently estimated Kelce’s net worth at $70 million—not too shabby, but nowhere near the $1.6 billion fortune of his fiancée, pop star Taylor Swift. Still, as the 35-year-old tight end enters his 13th NFL season, his business is flourishing. Tru Kolors, the clothing brand Kelce founded in 2019, recently unveiled a collaboration with American Eagle, and Garage Beer, the Columbus, Ohio-based brewery he invested in last year, has closed its first fundraising round with a reported valuation of roughly $200 million. Kelce also had a cameo in Happy Gilmore 2, which premiered on Netflix in July, and New Heights, his podcast with his brother, former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce, is humming along after Amazon’s Wondery picked it up last year in a three-year deal for a minimum of $105 million. An August episode of the show featuring Swift has drawn more than 22 million views on YouTube, and Swifties have supported Travis Kelce in other ways as well, helping him finish second in 2024 group licensing money from the NFL Players Association, at $3.25 million, and first in fan voting for the Pro Bowl Games. But Kelce is still trying to find the right balance as he begins to wind down his NFL career. “I think it might have slipped a little bit because I did have a little bit more focus in trying to set myself up, and opportunities came up where I was excited to venture into a new world of acting and being an entertainer,” he told GQ in August as he headed into the final year of his contract with the Chiefs. “These past two years haven’t been to my standard.”
#9 (tie). $47 million
Age: 37 | Position: Quarterback | Team: Los Angeles Rams | On-Field: $44 million • Off-Field: $3 million
Brooke Sutton/Getty Images
While the Rams gave Stafford permission during the off-season to discuss contracts with other teams, he ended up signing a new two-year, $84 million deal to remain in Los Angeles, replacing an existing pact for $58 million. The extension looks like a bargain, however, given a Sports Illustrated report that both the Las Vegas Raiders and the New York Giants were offering the 37-year-old quarterback more than $100 million. Now, the Rams just need Stafford to stay healthy, after he was sidelined by a back injury during training camp. (In one good sign for Los Angeles, Stafford’s wife, Kelly, seemed to confirm in August that he had not died and been replaced by a clone, debunking a wild conspiracy theory that had somehow taken hold in some corners of the internet.) Off the field, Stafford’s partners include Sleep Number beds and Trust & Will, an online estate-planning service, and he will make weekly appearances this season on the SiriusXM show Let’s Go.
#9 (tie). $47 million
Age: 29 | Position: Quarterback | Team: Cleveland Browns | On-Field: $46 million • Off-Field: $1 million
Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire/Newscom
Watson turns 30 on September 14—the same day his Cleveland Browns take on the division rival Baltimore Ravens—but the quarterback won’t be suiting up for that Week 2 matchup. As he recovers from a torn Achilles’ tendon he sustained last season, Watson is on Cleveland’s physically unable to perform list, ensuring he will miss at least four games. He was initially expected to be sidelined for the entire 2025 season, but videos of his workouts in August suggested he was ahead of schedule in his rehabilitation, which could set up a clash with the Browns. The team, which owes Watson $92 million over the next two seasons and is also carrying quarterbacks Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders on its roster, might prefer that he continue to sit out so it can recoup some money from insurance and qualify for salary-cap relief. “We took a big swing-and-miss with Deshaun,” Browns owner Jimmy Haslam said in March, referring to the 2022 trade that brought Watson in from the Houston Texans.
METHODOLOGY
The Forbes ranking of the NFL’s highest-paid players reflects on-field earnings—including both base salaries and bonuses—paid in 2025 or in connection with the 2025 season, for contracts signed as of September 6, 2025. Incentives that are based on 2025 individual or team performance are not included. On-field figures are rounded to the nearest $100,000.
The off-field earnings estimates are determined through conversations with industry insiders and are rounded to the nearest $1 million. The figures reflect annual cash from endorsements, licensing, appearances and memorabilia, as well as cash returns from any businesses in which the athlete has a significant interest. Investment income such as interest payments or dividends is not included, but Forbes does account for payouts from equity stakes athletes have sold. Forbes does not deduct for taxes or agents’ fees.