The NFL is, at times, a sport of attrition. Often, a game comes down to which team is the healthiest at the time of the contest, especially late in a season.
Injuries always have been, and always will be a part of not just the game, but the business of football. That's why depth on rosters is so important and discussed so often.
With the massive salaries that players are commanding in this era of the NFL, it's hard to imagine how NFL front offices deal with paying injured players and how that affects the rest of the roster.
Marcus Cannon
Marcus Cannon
From sprained ankles to broken bones to torn ACLs, a recent report has revealed the true price of injuries for each team, and which players cost the most.
The report was based on how many games a player missed and that player's average salary per game. While the Houston Texans came in at No. 17 as a team, spending $12,698,545 on injured players in 2021 in 163 missed games, they have just one player listed in the top 30 individuals list.
The top individual injury earner for Houston was tackle Marcus Cannon, who made $3,594,118 in 13 missed games in 2021. Cannon was placed on injured reserve on Oct. 19, 2021, after dealing with a painful disc issue that caused sciatica. He was released in March.
The lowest player in the top 30 belonged to wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr., who, although finished the season in Los Angeles winning a Super Bowl, earned $2,558,824 from the Cleveland Browns in 2021.
Marcus Cannon
Marcus Cannon
Marcus Cannon
The New York Jets topped the list with their injured players costing them an astonishing $28,670,537 throughout the 2021 season.
Safety Marcus Maye, on his own, cost the Jets $6.2 million over the course of the season having missed 10 out of 17 games the Jets played – more than the entire injury salary costs of the Philadelphia Eagles ($4,988,413) and the Buffalo Bills ($4,867,233), who are Nos. 31 and 32 respectively.
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