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Many NFL players are among the highest paid professional athletes in the entire world. The best players consistently sign massive contracts, with many of them hitting nine figures in total money. Entering the 2022 NFL season, 53 players from NFL history have reportedly made more than $100 million in career earnings. This list is dominated by quarterbacks, but includes other players as well.
As quarterbacks are the most important players on the football field, they are also the highest-paid players. They impact almost every play during the course of the game, while also often becoming the face of the franchise they are a part of. This is why they receive the richest contracts.
Here are the five highest earning players of all time as of the 2022 NFL season.
#5 - Aaron Rodgers - $263.6 million
Aaron Rodgers has spent his entire career with the Green Bay Packers. He has been one of the highest paid players in the entire league for most of his career. This has resulted in him being among the top five and has continually climbed higher.
The Packers gave him a massive contract extension during the 2022 NFL offseason. He became the first athlete in American sports history to sign a contract worth more than $50 million in AAV.
#4 - Matt Ryan - $267 million
Matt Ryan spent his career with the Atlanta Falcons before being traded to the Indianapolis Colts prior to the start of the 2022 NFL season. He signed a five-year extension with the Falcons in 2018 worth $150 million. The deal included $100 million in guaranteed money, the most on a single deal in NFL history at the time it was signed.
#3 - Ben Roethlisberger - $267.3 million
Ben Roethlisberger spent his entire legendary career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He is one of the best players in the franchise's history. He was well rewarded for his services with the Steelers, as they consistently made him one of the highest-paid players in the league. Only two players have ever made more than Roethlisberger in their career earnings.
#2 - Drew Brees - $269.7 million
Drew Brees began his career with the Los Angeles Chargers before joining the New Orleans Saints. He is likely the greatest overall player in Saints history and one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history. At the time of his retirement in 2021, he was the highest paid player of all time, but has since been surpassed. His $40 million salary in 2012 was also a record at the time it happened.
#1 - Tom Brady - $303 million
Tom Brady built his legacy with the New England Patriots, then further grew it with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He is the greatest player of all time by almost every standard to judge players by. He is also the highest paid player of all time by a wide margin, topping another list. Brady is still actively playing, so will likely increase his lead even further.
