| # | Player | Pos | AAV | Guaranteed | Contract |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dak Prescott Dallas Cowboys | QB | $60.0M | $126M | 4 yrs / $240M |
| 2 | Joe Burrow Cincinnati Bengals | QB | $55.0M | $219M | 5 yrs / $275M |
| 3 | Lamar Jackson Baltimore Ravens | QB | $52.0M | $185M | 5 yrs / $260M |
| 4 | Josh Allen Buffalo Bills | QB | $50.0M | $150M | 4 yrs / $200M |
| 5 | Jalen Hurts Philadelphia Eagles | QB | $51.0M | $179M | 5 yrs / $255M |
| 6 | Patrick Mahomes Kansas City Chiefs | QB | $45.0M | $141M | 10 yrs · restructured |
| 7 | Jaxon Smith-Njigba Seattle Seahawks | WR | $42.2M | $120M | 4 yrs / $168.6M |
| 8 | CeeDee Lamb Dallas Cowboys | WR | $40.0M | $100M | 4 yrs / $160M |
| 9 | Justin Jefferson Minnesota Vikings | WR | $35.0M | $88M | 4 yrs / $140M |
| 10 | Ja'Marr Chase Cincinnati Bengals | WR | $34.0M | $87M | 4 yrs / $136M |
| 11 | Myles Garrett Cleveland Browns | EDGE | $40.0M | $100M | 5 yrs / $200M |
| 12 | Micah Parsons Dallas Cowboys | LB/EDGE | $40.0M | $95M | 5 yrs / $200M |
| 13 | Christian McCaffrey San Francisco 49ers | RB | $19.0M | $44M | 2 yrs / $38M |
| 14 | Tua Tagovailoa Miami Dolphins | QB | $53.0M | $167M | 4 yrs / $212M |
| 15 | Tyreek Hill Miami Dolphins | WR | $30.0M | $72.2M | 4 yrs / $120M |
NFL contracts are far more complex than they appear. A player signed to a "$200 million contract" may only be guaranteed $80 million — the rest can evaporate if the team cuts him before the final years kick in. Understanding the difference between Annual Average Value (AAV), fully guaranteed money, signing bonuses, and dead cap is essential to understanding how NFL teams build rosters.
AAV is simply the total contract value divided by the number of years. A 4-year, $200M contract has an AAV of $50M. This is the number most often used to rank and compare contracts, but it can be misleading — a player can be cut before the full value is paid.
A signing bonus is the only money truly guaranteed at signing. It is paid immediately (usually in installments) and is prorated across the contract length on the salary cap. A $60M signing bonus on a 4-year deal counts as $15M per year on the cap — even if the player is cut after year one.
Guaranteed money is any portion of the contract the team must pay regardless of injury or release. NFL contracts are far less guaranteed than NBA contracts — even a "$200M contract" may only guarantee $80–100M of that. The rest is only paid if the player is on the roster when that money is due.
When a team cuts or trades a player, the remaining prorated signing bonus accelerates onto the current year's cap. This is called "dead cap." Teams with large dead cap figures have less flexibility to add players in free agency. Dead cap can haunt a franchise for years after a failed signing.
The 2026 NFL salary cap is set at $279.2 million per team — a significant increase from the 2025 cap of $255.4 million. This increase is driven by the NFL's growing national media rights deals, which now guarantee the league over $9 billion in annual revenue.
Teams must stay under the cap at all times during the regular season. However, teams can have more cap space than they use — unused space rolls over into the following year. The teams with the most cap space heading into 2026 free agency had the most flexibility to sign premium players or extend their own stars before the season.
The biggest NFL stars earn far more from endorsements, investments, and business ventures than from their NFL contracts. Patrick Mahomes, for example, has an estimated net worth exceeding $100 million despite his NFL salary — thanks to endorsement deals with State Farm, Adidas, Oakley, and Hy-Vee, plus equity stakes in multiple Kansas City sports franchises.
Dak Prescott's $60M-per-year contract makes headlines, but his estimated total income including endorsements with AT&T, Pepsi, and others likely pushes his annual earnings well above $75 million. The NFL's TV exposure — 17 weeks of primetime games watched by 200+ million Americans — makes its quarterbacks among the most marketable athletes on earth.