Joe Burrow, Travis Kelce, Deshaun Watson among top 10 highest-paid NFL players. See how they rank

Posted by Admin September 13, 2024 NFL

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Money talks. And for a few select NFL players, there’s plenty to go around.

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson ranked in the top 10 highest paid in the NFL on the Forbes list of the NFL’s highest paid players for 2024.

The Forbes ranking considered on-field earnings (including base salaries and bonuses) paid in the 2024 season. Off-field earnings were included and estimated through factors like endorsements, licensing, appearances, memorabilia, and more.

Forbes says that the top 10 players are looking at a combined $644 million in earnings during the 2024 league year, surpassing last year’s record of $508 million.

No. 4 overall: Joe Burrow, $69.7 million

Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals ranked inside the top 5 on the NFL’s highest paid players list at No. 4.

Forbes estimates Burrow’s earnings at $69.7 million this season. The Bengals’ signal-caller sustained a wrist injury last season and played 10 games, but he signed a five-year, $275 million extension with the Bengals last September. Burrow’s $55 million salary made him the NFL’s highest-paid player until Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott signed a 4-year, $240 million contract before the start of the 2024 season.

No. 7 overall: Travis Kelce, $52 million

The Ohio native’s $17 million salary for 2024 (per Spotrac) is nothing to scoff at, but the Kansas City Chiefs tight end makes twice as much off the field.

Kelce earned $2.4 million from jersey sales, Forbes reports, and he has several revenue streams away from the game: His ownership stake in Cincinnati’s Garage Beer (Jason Kelce is also an investor), his award-winning New Heights podcast, and TV (“Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity”) and film work (“Loose Cannons,” “Happy Gilmore 2”).

Add it all up, and Kelce is the lone non-QB to crack Forbes’ top 10 list.

No. 10 overall: Deshaun Watson, $47 million

The highly-paid quarterback inked a contract with a price tag of $230 million in 2022 after being traded from Houston to Cleveland.

Forbes reports that Watson agreed to restructure the deal in August in order to lower his cap hit this season for the Browns.

Recently, Watson has once again landed in hot water, being accused of sexual assault in a new lawsuit—the 27th lawsuit against him from similar cases centered around massage requests, USA TODAY reports. After an investigation, the NFL fined Watson $5 million, and he served an 11-game suspension before playing a game for Cleveland.

Outside the lines, Forbes says that Watson is an investor in the restaurant chain Lefty’s Famous Cheesesteaks, which opened its first Ohio restaurant this spring in University Heights.

The top 10 highest-paid players in the NFL

Combined, the NFL’s top 10 highest-earning players (salary plus other income) can expect to collect $644 million in the 2024 league year, per Forbes:

Jared Goff, Detroit Lions QB: $85.6 million
Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs QB: $81 million
Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers QB: $80.5 million
Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals QB: $69.7 million
Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers QB: $66.6 million
Kirk Cousins, Atlanta Falcons QB: $65 million
Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs TE: $52 million
Russell Wilson, Pittsburgh Steelers QB: $49 million
Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets QB: $47.2 million
Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns QB: $47 million

The NFL’s 10 highest paid players

The Forbes list looks a little different than the top 10 highest paid players in based on annual salary, per Spotrac.

Dak Prescott: $60 million
TIE: Trevor Lawrence, $55 million
TIE: Joe Burrow: $55 million
TIE: Jordan Love, $55 million
Tua Tagovailoa: $53.1 million
Jared Goff: $53 million
Justin Herbert: $52.5 million
Lamar Jackson: $52 million
Jalen Hurts: $51 million
Kyler Murray: $46.1 million

Forbes’ methodology for ranking the 10 highest-paid NFL players

Here’s how Forbes came up with its top 10 list:

“The Forbes ranking of the NFL’s highest-paid players reflects on-field earnings—including both base salaries and bonuses—paid in 2024 or in connection with the 2024 season, for contracts signed as of September 4, 2024. Incentives that are based on 2024 individual or team performance are not included. On-field figures are rounded to the nearest $100,000.

The off-field earnings estimates are determined through conversations with industry insiders and are rounded to the nearest $500,000. The figures reflect annual cash from endorsements, licensing, appearances and memorabilia, as well as cash returns from any businesses in which the athlete has a significant interest. Investment income such as interest payments or dividends is not included, but Forbes does account for payouts from equity stakes athletes have sold. Forbes does not deduct for taxes or agents’ fees.”