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The 25 Highest-Paid NFL Players for 2023

Originally posted on Front Office Sports
By Andrew Cohen | Last updated 9/7/23

NFL teams heading into the 2023 season have constructed their rosters under a record $224.8 million salary cap, an increase of $16.6 million from the league’s 2022 salary cap.

The NFL also approached $20 billion in revenue last season. It was far from the only financial record set in the league as three franchise quarterbacks, all aged 25 or 26, signed five-year contracts this offseason that marked all-time high average-annual salaries for an NFL player.

First came Jalen Hurts signing a then-record five-year, $255M deal with the Eagles ($51M average) in April, followed by the Ravens extending Lamar Jackson a couple of weeks later for $260M ($52M average). Finally, Justin Herbert set the current record in July with his $262.5M extension with the Chargers worth $52.5 million per season.

Regardless of average annual salary, below are the 25 highest-paid NFL players for 2023 when considering their salary and bonuses for the season. Data was compiled from Spotrac.

Rank	Player	Team	Compensation
1	Lamar Jackson, QB	Baltimore Ravens	$80 million
2	Deshaun Watson QB	Cleveland Browns	$46 million
3	Daniel Jones QB	New York Giants	$46 million
4	Patrick Mahomes QB	Kansas City Chiefs	$40.45 million
5	Kyler Murray QB	Arizona Cardinals	$39 milliom
6	Aaron Rodgers QB	New York Jets	$36.8 million
7	Chris Lindstrom G	Atlanta Falcons	$35.7 million
8	Orlando Brown Jr LT	Cincinnati Bengals	$33.7 million
9	Laremy Tunsil LT	Houston Texans	$32.4 million
10	Daron Payne DT	Washington Commanders	$31.01 million
11	Dak Prescott QB	Dallas Cowboys	$31 million
12	Derek Carr QB	New Orleans Saints	$30 million
13	Kirk Cousins QB	Minnesota Vikings	$30 million
14	Aaron Donald DT	Los Angeles Rams	$28.5 million
15	Russell Wilson QB	Denver Broncos	$28 million
16	Josh Allen QB	Buffalo Bills	$28 million
17	Geno Smith QB	Seattle Seahawks	$27.5 million
18	Matthew Stafford QB	Los Angeles Rams	$27.5 million
19	Roquan Smith ILB	Baltimore Ravens	$27 million
20	Ryan Tannehill QB	Tennessee Titans	$27 million
21	Davante Adams WR	Las Vegas Raiders	$26.6 million
22	Tyreek Hill WR	Miami Dolphins	$26.3 million
23	Quinnen Williams DT	New York Jets	$26.1 million
24	Jared Goff QB	Detroit Lions	$25.9 million
25	Jeffery Simmons DT	Tennessee Titans	$25.5 million