Top 10 highest paid NFL players entering 2022 season ft. Deshaun Watson, Aaron Rodgers, and more
NFL players are among the highest paid athletes in the world. Each of the 45 highest-paid players in the league make an AAV of at least $20 million entering the 2022 NFL season, while the top 15 all make at least $30 million.
Their massive contracts continue to get bigger every year as the demand for superstar players is always at a premium.
The quarterbacks are the highest paid NFL players by a significant margin because of their massive impact on their teams' success. Each of the top 12 highest paid players and 15 of the top 20 are all quarterbacks. Here are the top 10 highest paid players by AAV entering the 2022 NFL season.
#9 (tied) - Kirk Cousins - $35 million
Kirk Cousins joined the Minnesota Vikings in 2018 on a three-year contract worth $28 million in AAV. He followed that up with a two-year extension following the 2020 season, earning a raise of $33 million in AAV.
Cousins avoided entering the final year of his contract in 2022 by signing a one-year extension with the Vikings. This increased his AAV to $35 million and kept him under contract until the conclusion of the 2023 NFL season.
#9 (tied) - Russell Wilson - $35 million
Russell Wilson was involved in one of the biggest blockbuster moves of the 2022 NFL offseason when the Seattle Seahawks traded him to the Denver Broncos. He will play for a new team this year for the first time in his career.
ICYMI:
Russell Wilson and the #Seahawks have agreed to a 4-year contract extension, worth $140M, and $107M guaranteed.
He is now under contract for 5 years and $157M 💰💰 https://t.co/b5YC10uRej
Wilson signed a four-year deal worth $140 million with the Seahawks in 2019. So, he remains under contract with the Broncos until the 2024 offseason unless he were to sign a new contract before then, which is entirely possible.