The highest-paid player on an NFL team is a target as much as anything else. More so than other leagues, the NFL has especially interchangeable contracts that allow teams to drop players as soon as they start to underperform. Whereas MLB players like Albert Pujols or Miguel Cabrera can look forward to years of being paid like they’re in their prime, NFL stars can’t have the same expectations.
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What’s more, with a hard cap on total team salaries, the incentive to shed expensive talent is even higher. Every penny of a player’s “cap hit” counts against that total. Overpaid players don’t just cost teams more money; they prevent them from acquiring other, better players as well .
As such, the highest-paid player on each NFL team is — more often than not — clearly among their most valuable. But with a massive loss in revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic, jettisoning high-priced players could be an even higher priority for some teams.
GOBankingRates ranked the highest-paid player on each NFL team according to their salary cap hit for the 2020 season. Take a closer look at who earns the most on your favorite NFL squad.
Last updated: Dec. 9, 2020
Trask Smith/CSM / Shutterstock.com Player: Mitch Morse
Position: Center
2020 cap hit (current season): $11,625,000
2020 base salary (current season): $6,775,000
AP/Shutterstock / AP/Shutterstock Player: Byron Jones
Position: Cornerback
2020 cap hit (current season): $14,000,000
2020 base salary (current season): $11,000,000
David Dermer/AP / Shutterstock.com Player: Olivier Vernon
Position: Defensive end
2020 cap hit (current season): $15,500,000
2020 base salary (current season): $15,250,000
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Mark Zaleski/AP / Shutterstock.com Player: J.J. Watt
Position: Defensive end
2020 cap hit (current season): $15,500,000
2020 base salary (current season): $15,500,000
Nick Wass/AP / Shutterstock.com Player: Matt Judon
Position: Outside linebacker
2020 cap hit (current season): $15,828,000
2020 base salary (current season): $15,828,000
Gail Burton/AP / Shutterstock.com Player: Melvin Ingram
Position: Defensive end
2020 cap hit (current season): $16,625,000
2020 base salary (current season): $14,000,000
Seth Wenig/AP / Shutterstock.com Player: C.J. Mosley
Position: Inside linebacker
2020 cap hit (current season): $17,500,000
2020 base salary (current season): $6,000,000
Michael Conroy/AP / Shutterstock.com Player: Yannick Ngakoue
Position: Defensive end
2020 cap hit (current season): $17,788,000
2020 base salary (current season): $17,788,000
Adam Lacy/CSM/REX / Shutterstock.com Player: A.J. Green
Position: Wide receiver
2020 cap hit (current season): $17,865,000
2020 base salary (current season): $17,865,000
Story Continues
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©AP/REX/Shutterstock Player: Stephon Gilmore
Position: Cornerback
2020 cap hit (current season): $18,670,833
2020 base salary (current season): $10,500,000
Reed Hoffmann/AP / Shutterstock.com Player: Frank Clark
Position: Defensive end
2020 cap hit (current season): $19,300,000
2020 base salary (current season): $12,000,000
AP / Shutterstock.com Player: Kawann Short
Position: Defensive end
2020 cap hit (current season): $19,464,000
2020 base salary (current season): $12,500,000
Rich Schultz/AP / Shutterstock.com Player: Nate Solder
Position: Left tackle
2020 cap hit (current season): $19,500,000
2020 base salary (current season): $9,900,000
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Jeff Haynes/AP/REX / Shutterstock.com Player: Julio Jones
Position: Wide receiver
2020 cap hit (current season): $20,416,668
2020 base salary (current season): $11,200,000
Bill Feig/AP / Shutterstock.com Player: Kirk Cousins
Position: Quarterback
2020 cap hit (current season): $21,000,000
2020 base salary (current season): $9,500,000
Matt Ludtke/AP / Shutterstock.com Player: Matthew Stafford
Position: Quarterback
2020 cap hit (current season): $21,300,000
2020 base salary (current season): $7,800,000
©Michael Ainsworth/AP/REX/Shutterstock Player: Chandler Jones
Position: Outside linebacker
2020 cap hit (current season): $21,333,333
2020 base salary (current season): $16,000,000
©Rick Scuteri/AP/REX/Shutterstock Player: Alex Smith
Position: Quarterback
2020 cap hit (current season): $21,400,000
2020 base salary (current season): $16,000,000
Charlie Riedel/AP / Shutterstock.com Player: Derek Carr
Position: Quarterback
2020 cap hit (current season): $21,500,000
2020 base salary (current season): $18,900,000
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Mat Hayward / Shutterstock.com Player: Aaron Rodgers
Position: Quarterback
2020 cap hit (current season): $21,642,000
2020 base salary (current season): $1,550,000
Patrick Semansky/AP / Shutterstock.com Player: Ryan Tannehill
Position: Quarterback
2020 cap hit (current season): $22,500,000
2020 base salary (current season): $17,500,000
Butch Dill/AP / Shutterstock.com Player: Drew Brees
Position: Quarterback
2020 cap hit (current season): $23,650,000
2020 base salary (current season): $2,000,000
Don Wright/AP / Shutterstock.com Player: Ben Roethlisberger
Position: Quarterback
2020 cap hit (current season): $23,750,000
2020 base salary (current season): $1,500,000
Jae C Hong/AP / Shutterstock.com Player: Fletcher Cox
Position: Defensive tackle
2020 cap hit (current season): $23,847,000
2020 base salary (current season): $11,200,000
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Charlie Riedel/AP / Shutterstock.com Player: Philip Rivers
Position: Quarterback
2020 cap hit (current season): $25,000,000
2020 base salary (current season): $13,000,000
Arturo Holmes / Shutterstock.com Player: Tom Brady
Position: Quarterback
2020 cap hit (current season): $25,000,000
2020 base salary (current season): $15,000,000
Jack Dempsey/AP / Shutterstock.com Player: Von Miller
Position: Outside linebacker
2020 cap hit (current season): $25,625,000
2020 base salary (current season): $17,500,000
Damon Tarver/CSM / Shutterstock.com Player: Khalil Mack
Position: Outside linebacker
2020 cap hit (current season): $26,600,000
2020 base salary (current season): $13,300,000
Tony Avelar/AP / Shutterstock.com Player: Jimmy Garoppolo
Position: Quarterback
2020 cap hit (current season): $26,600,000
2020 base salary (current season): $23,800,000
Jeff Haynes/AP / Shutterstock.com Player: Jared Goff
Position: Quarterback
2020 cap hit (current season): $29,002,682
2020 base salary (current season): $1,242,682
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Grindstone Media Group / Shutterstock.com Player: Russell Wilson
Position: Quarterback
2020 cap hit (current season): $31,000,000
2020 base salary (current season): $18,000,000
Jamie Lamor Thompson / Shutterstock.com Player: Dak Prescott
Position: Quarterback
2020 cap hit (current season): $31,409,000
2020 base salary (current season): $31,409,000
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Methodology: To find the highest-paid player on every NFL team, GOBankingRates used Spotrac’s salary rankings data for the upcoming 2020 NFL season. The highest-paid player on each team was determined by the player’s salary cap hit. Each player’s base salary for the corresponding season was included as supplemental data. All data and figures were collected and are up to date as of May 22, 2020.
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com : The Highest-Paid Player on Every NFL Team
