Top 10 highest paid NFL players entering 2022 season ft. Deshaun Watson, Aaron Rodgers, and more

NFL players are among the highest paid athletes in the world. Each of the 45 highest-paid players in the league make an AAV of at least $20 million entering the 2022 NFL season, while the top 15 all make at least $30 million.

Their massive contracts continue to get bigger every year as the demand for superstar players is always at a premium.

The quarterbacks are the highest paid NFL players by a significant margin because of their massive impact on their teams' success. Each of the top 12 highest paid players and 15 of the top 20 are all quarterbacks. Here are the top 10 highest paid players by AAV entering the 2022 NFL season.

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#9 (tied) - Kirk Cousins - $35 million

Kirk Cousins joined the Minnesota Vikings in 2018 on a three-year contract worth $28 million in AAV. He followed that up with a two-year extension following the 2020 season, earning a raise of $33 million in AAV.

Cousins avoided entering the final year of his contract in 2022 by signing a one-year extension with the Vikings. This increased his AAV to $35 million and kept him under contract until the conclusion of the 2023 NFL season.

#9 (tied) - Russell Wilson - $35 million

Russell Wilson was involved in one of the biggest blockbuster moves of the 2022 NFL offseason when the Seattle Seahawks traded him to the Denver Broncos. He will play for a new team this year for the first time in his career.

Wilson signed a four-year deal worth $140 million with the Seahawks in 2019. So, he remains under contract with the Broncos until the 2024 offseason unless he were to sign a new contract before then, which is entirely possible.

#7 (tied) - Dak Prescott - $40 million

Dak Prescott made history when he signed a four-year contract with the Dallas Cowboys in 2021 worth $160 million, the highest in NFL history at the time it was signed. It was also signed following a year where he injured his ankle and missed the majority of the season.

Prescott will remain under contract with the Cowboys until the conclusion of the 2021 season. He helped them reach the playoffs last year and he will be looking to make a deeper run this year.

#7 (tied) - Matthew Stafford - $40 million

Matthew Stafford was one of the biggest headlines of the 2021 offseason when the Detroit Lions traded him to the Los Angeles Rams. He continued to be one of the biggest stories when he won his first Super Bowl ring in his first season with his new team.

While Stafford still had one more year remaining on his previous contract, he was rewarded by the Rams with a four-year extension. This increased his AAV to $40 million and kept him with the team until the 2027 offseason.

#6 - Derek Carr - $40.5 million

Derek Carr entered the 2022 NFL offseason with just one year remaining on his contract with the Las Vegas Raiders. He was rewarded with a three-year extension worth $121.5 million after leading the Raiders to the playoffs last season, joining the long list of quarterbacks to recently sign huge contracts.

Carr's AAV climbed to $40.5 million and it ranks him among the top six highest paid players, surpassing Stafford and Prescott by half a million per season.

#5 - Josh Allen - $43 million

Josh Allen is one of the best dual threat quarterbacks in the NFL. His unique skillset has helped the Buffalo Bills reach the playoffs in each of the last three seasons.

The Bills rewarded their talented young quarterback with a massive six-year contract extension worth more than $258 million. They are fully committed to Allen as their franchise player, keeping him under contract until the 2029 offseason.

#4 - Patrick Mahomes - $45 million

Patrick Mahomes made history when he signed a 10-year contract extension with the Kansas City Chiefs worth $450 million dollars, bringing his total contract value up to $503 million.

Mahomes set the record for the largest total contract in American sports history and the second largest in world sports history, trailing only Lionel Messi.

Mahomes earned his massive payday by getting off to the best start to a career by any quarterback ever. He produced an NFL MVP award, Super Bowl ring, Super Bowl MVP award, and two conference titles in just his first three seasons in the league.

#3 - Deshaun Watson - $46 million

Deshaun Watson has been the biggest story of the 2022 NFL offseason. Among the many headlines he created, there was one of him being traded by the Houston Texans to the Cleveland Browns and receiving one of the biggest contracts in NFL history.

Watson signed a five-year extension with the Browns worth $230 million in fully guaranteed money. His contract includes the most guaranteed amount of money on any contract in NFL history.

#2 - Kyler Murray - $46.1 million

Kyler Murray joined the list of quarterbacks who received huge contract extensions when he signed a new deal with the Arizona Cardinals during the 2022 NFL offseason. He is set to remain under contract until the conclusion of the 2028 season.

Murray's new contract is worth $230.5 million across five years, surpassing Watson by just $100,000 per season. Unlike Watson's fully guaranteed deal, Murray received $160 million in guaranteed money.

#1 - Aaron Rodgers - $50.3 million

Aaron Rodgers made history during the 2022 NFL offseason when he signed a three-year contract extension with the Green Bay Packers. His record-setting deal is worth more than $150 million and keeps him under contract until the 2025 offseason.

Rodgers is the first athlete in American sports history to sign a single contract worth at least $50 million in AAV.

About the author

Adam Hulse is an NFL journalist at Sportskeeda with 4 years of experience. He is also the host of the podcast "Sports Talk with Adam Hulse."

Adam studied Communications at Villanova University and played American football at Pop Warner and as a high school Freshman. His favorite team are the Dallas Cowboys, and if Adam could lay his hands on a time machine, he would love to witness their glory years from the 1990s. The Cowboys' 27-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XXX is his favorite Super Bowl of all time.

Given his affinity for 'America's Team,' Adam's favorite players of all time include Emmitt Smith. Michael Irvin, Tony Romo and Dak Prescott.

Adam takes a lot of pride in his work, which naturally culminates into insightful content for his readers, performance analysis being his forte. When not writing about football, Adam spends a time on his podcast.

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Edited by Akshay Saraswat