Wasn’t that long ago Maxx Crosby reset the market for players who aren’t quarterbacks. Since Crosby signed an extension earlier this month that put him at a $35.5 million average annual salary, two players have since surpassed that mark over the next two weeks.
Of course, both of those record-setting extensions fell on a Sunday. Myles Garrett previously owned that title as the Cleveland Browns gave him a $40 million extension with a historic $122.8 million guaranteed. Just a week later, Ja’Marr Chase reset the market as the Cincinnati Bengals gave him a four-year, $161 million deal that pays him an average of $40.25 million a season.
With Chase joining Garrett in the $40 million non-quarterback club, Chase’s deal will certainly impact other non-quarterbacks whose agents are popping bottles while negotiating extensions for their superstar clients. Micah Parsons, Aidan Hutchinson and Trey Hendrickson are awaiting new contracts and stand to benefit the most from Garrett and Chase’s new deals.
This list will certainly change over the course of the offseason, but here are the 10 highest-paid non-quarterbacks in the NFL at this very moment.
Highest-paid non-quarterbacks in average annual salary
| Ja’Marr Chase | Cincinnati Bengals | WR | $40,250,000 |
| Myles Garrett | Cleveland Browns | DE | $40,000,000 |
|
Maxx Crosby |
Las Vegas Raiders |
DE |
$35,500,000 |
|
Justin Jefferson |
Minnesota Vikings |
WR |
$35,000,000 |
|
CeeDee Lamb |
Dallas Cowboys |
WR |
$34,000,000 |
|
Nick Bosa |
San Francisco 49ers |
DE |
$34,000,000 |
|
A.J. Brown |
Philadelphia Eagles |
WR |
$32,000,000 |
| Chris Jones | Kansas City Chiefs | DT | $31,750,000 |
|
Amon-Ra St. Brown |
Detroit Lions |
WR |
$30,002,500 |
| DK Metcalf | Pittsburgh Steelers | WR | $30,000,000 |
|
Tyreek Hill |
Miami Dolphins |
WR |
$30,000,000 |
|
Brandon Aiyuk |
San Francisco 49ers |
WR |
$30,000,000 |
Wide receivers still dominate the highest-paid non-quarterbacks list based on average per year salary, as eight of them are in the top-12 with Hill, Metcalf and Aiyuk tied for 10th. Pass rushers take up three positions on the list with Garrett, Crosby and Bosa as the three edge rushers who make $30+ million a year. Jones is the outlier as an interior defensive lineman, the only one to make $30+ million a year.
Now, let’s take a look at the highest-paid, non-QBs in terms of guaranteed salary, a list that many would argue is even more important than a contract’s average per year salary because APY can sometimes be artificially inflated by backloading a deal with money teams intended to never actually pay out. All the money below is cash each respective player will see.
Highest-paid non-quarterbacks in guaranteed salary
| Myles Garrett | Cleveland Browns | DE | $122,796,120 |
| Nick Bosa | San Francisco 49ers | DE | $122,500,000 |
| Ja’Marr Chase | Cincinnati Bengals | WR | $112,000,000 |
| Justin Jefferson | Minnesota Vikings | WR | $110,000,000 |
| CeeDee Lamb | Dallas Cowboys | WR | $100,000,000 |
| Chris Jones | Kansas City Chiefs | DT | $95,000,000 |
|
Maxx Crosby |
Las Vegas Raiders |
DE |
$91,500,000 |
| Tristan Wirfs | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | OT | $88,240,000 |
| Joshua Hines-Allen | Jacksonville Jaguars | DE | $88,000,000 |
| Brian Burns | New York Giants | DE | $87,500,000 |
Chase became the highest-paid wide receiver in NFL history in guaranteed money, getting $112 million from the Bengals in his massive extension. He broke Jefferson’s mark set last offseason, but remains in third among non-quarterbacks behind Garrett and Bosa.
Players who line up in the trenches along the line of scrimmage dominate the guaranteed money top 10 list for non-QBs. Six pass rushers, five of whom are edge rushers (Garrett, Bosa, Crosby, Hines-Allen and Burns) and one interior defensive lineman (Jones), lead the way.
These two charts hammer home why Garrett’s deal set sthe barometer for Watt, Parsons, Hendrickson, and other pass rushers seeking extensions. All these contracts were signed over the last two years, with Bosa setting the standard with his five-year, $170 million extension with $122.5 million guaranteed in 2023. These numbers will certainly go up with the rising salary cap and the ballooning wide receiver market.
Garrett’s extension is the dynamite that ushers in a wave of record-setting spending this offseason, with Chase surpassing his average annual salary just a week later.
