NFL players get paid handsomely to put their bodies on the line every Sunday in pursuit of a Super Bowl. A lot of NFL careers are cut short due to injury. Other players get paid asinine amounts of money for mediocre work on the field because of a lack of depth at their position or the relative value of players who signed around them.
For reasons too numerous to dive into here, Matthew Stafford is now the highest paid player in NFL history after signing a contract worth $51 million. Andrew Luck is the second highest paid player in the NFL. But there are a SHIT TON of players making INSANE amounts of money this season. Business Insider compiled a list of the 30 Highest Paid Players in the NFL. Here are the 15 highest paid, to see the full list just follow that link over to BI:
15. Nick Perry, Outside Linebacker, Green Bay Packer — $20,725,000
t13. Joe Flacco, Quarterback, Baltimore Ravens — $21,000,000
t13. Eric Berry, Free Safety, Kanas City Chiefs — $21,000,000
12. Chandler Jones, Outside Linebacker, Arizona Cardinals — $22,000,000
11. Jason Pierre-Paul, Defensive End, New York Giants — $22,250,000
10. Melvin Ingram, Defensive End, Los Angeles Chargers — $22,750,000
9. Stephon Gilmore, Cornerback, New England Patriots — $22,968,750
8. Cam Newton, Quarterback, Carolina Panthers — $23,666,666
7. Kirk Cousins, Quarterback, Washington Redskins — $23,943,600
t5. Josh Norman, Cornerback, Washington Redskins — $24,000,000
t5. DeAndre Hopkins, Wide Reciever, Houston Texans — $24,000,000
4. Derek Carr, Quarterback, Oakland Raiders — $25,175,000
3. Kawann Short, Defensive Tackle, Carolina Panthers — $26,000,000
2. Andrew Luck, Quarterback, Indianapolis Colts — $27,000,000
1. Matthew Stafford, Quarterback, Detroit Lions — $51,000,000 ($1 million salary + $50 million signing bonus)
I don’t even feel poor after reading through those numbers because my feeble mind can’t even process making $50+ million in a single contract.
If you want to see who the other highest paid players in the NFL are then click here to see the full list over on Business Insider.