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15 Highest-Paid Football Players of All Time

Professional football players have always been paid pretty dang well considering how hard they play each and every game. Though the regular season in the NFL is only 16 games long, these players continue to take a beating and risk serious injury weekly during the fall. We know that football players are always at a constant risk, but many of these stars do not mind considering they make a lot of money playing a game they love.

Even though all positions generally bring in a good salary, some are paid more than others, and that's completely understandable. The highest paid player for most teams is their quarterback, who is in charge of facilitating the offense and scoring points for his team. Other particularly well-paid positions are wide receivers, running backs, and linebackers. With that being said, there are players at other positions who have made a tremendous amount of money over the course of their respective careers.

These players work hard all year to be in the best shape and perform at the highest level during the season. They sacrifice a lot by traveling and dedicating so much time to the game of football. Many players have to spend a lot of time apart from their families, which can grow harder and harder.

We've made a list of the top fifteen all-time salary earners throughout their careers. As an added bonus, we've included a few vital statistics to help determine if these players were worth all the money they have received.

Tony Romo (QB)

Tony Romo (QB)
  • Career Earnings: $127.4 million
  • Seasons: 14
  • Super Bowls: 0
  • Pro Bowls: 4

Tony Romo was an American football quarterback who played in the NFL for 14 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. During that time, he played for four Pro Bowls but was never at any Super Bowl, making with one of the highest-paid football players to have never played at the Super Bowl.

Romo started his career playing college football in Eastern Illinois eventually he signed with the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2003. During his career, he completed 2,829 passes for a completion rate of 6.5.3%.  He retired in 2016, having remained with the Cowboys for the entire length of his career.

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Brett Favre (QB)

Brett Favre (QB)
  • Career Earnings: $141 million
  • Seasons: 20
  • Super Bowls: 1
  • Pro Bowls: 11
  • All-Pro: 3

Brett Favre was a quarterback in the NFL for 20 seasons. During that time, he mostly played with the Green Bay Packers. Favre had 321 consecutive starts from 1992 to 2010, including 297 regular-season games, which is the most in league history.

Brett Favre has been named an NFL MVP three times and a Super Bowl Champion.  After his time with the Packers, he was traded for the New York Giants and the Minnesota Vikings. He retired after 2010. In 2016, he was inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  He had a pass completion rate of 62%.

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Julius Peppers (LB)

Julius Peppers (LB)
  • Career Earnings: $159.5 million
  • Seasons: 16
  • Super Bowls: 0
  • Pro Bowls: 9
  • All-Pro: 3

Julius Peppers was an American football defensive end for the Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears, and Green Bay Packers. He's spent most of that time with the Panthers, however, having been drafted in 2002 and remaining with the team until 2009. After being traded twice, he played for the Panthers again from 2017 to 2018. 

Julius Peppers played college football at North Carolina before the 2002 NFL draft. That year, he was named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year,  a year in which he recorded  12 sacks, 5 forced fumbles, and an interception in just 12 games. Julius Peppers went on to be named to the Pro Bowl nine times and the All-Pro three times. 

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Joe Flacco (QB)

Joe Flacco (QB)
  • Career Earnings: $165 million
  • Seasons: 13
  • Super Bowls: 1
  • Pro Bowls: 0

Joe Flacco is a current Football quarterback for the New York Jets, but before that, he played for the Baltimore Ravens, the Denver Broncos, and the Philadelphia Eagles. Having played since 2008, so far he has earned $165 million. He has played one Super Bowl so far and at that event in 2012, he was named MVP as a Baltimore Raven player.

Joe Flacco started his career at the University of Delaware until he was drafted into the NFL in 2008. He played with the Ravens from 2008 to 2018 but as his performance began to decline, he ended up getting traded to the Denver Broncos. Nevertheless, as of 2021, Flacco has had more career passing yards and touchdowns compared to any other quarterback who never played a Pro Bowl game.

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Carson Palmer (QB)

Carson Palmer (QB)
  • Career Earnings: $174.1 million
  • Seasons: 15
  • Super Bowls: 0
  • Pro Bowls: 3

Carson Palmer is an American football quarterback that played for the NFL for 15 seasons, having ended his career in 2017.  He played three Pro Bowls and was named NFL passing touchdowns leader in 2005 and Pro Bowl MVP in 2006. 

Carson Palmer played college football at USC where he won the Heisman trophy in 2002. By 2003, he was chosen for the NFL draft, where he was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals. He played with them until 2010 and was then traded for the Oakland Raiders in 2011, and then again in 2013 for the Arizona Cardinals. 

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Larry Fitzgerald (WR)

Larry Fitzgerald (WR)
  • Career Earnings: $180 million
  • Seasons: 17
  • Super Bowls: 0
  • Pro Bowls: 11
  • All-Pro: 1

Larry Fitzgerald was a wide receiver and a free agent of the NFL. He's played the Pro Bowl 11 times but has never been to the Super Bowl. Nevertheless, there's no doubt about his personal skills as a player. He's had 121 receiving touchdowns and 1,432 receptions in his career.

Larry Fitzgerald played college football in Pittsburgh before getting picked for the 2004 NFL draft by the Cardinals. He played for 17 seasons, ending his career in 2020, and he is widely considered to be one of the greatest receivers in the NFL. He has held numerous Cardinals franchise records and NFL records.

All-Pro Reels/Larry Fitzgerald/CC BY-SA 2.0 DEED/Flickr

Eli Manning (QB)

Eli Manning (QB)
  • Career Earnings: $219.3 million
  • Seasons: 16
  • Super Bowls: 2
  • Pro Bowls: 4

Eli Manning is a football quarterback and two-time Super Bowl Champion and was named Super Bowl MVP twice as well. He played with the New York Giants from 2004 to 2019 and was awarded the New York Giants Ring of Honor. 

Eli Manning played college football at Ole Miss until he was selected by the Chargers in 2004 and traded with the New York Giants. He is the younger brother of Peyton Manning and it goes to show that football is in the blood in the Manning family. Their father was Archie Manning, another NFL quarterback.

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Aaron Rodgers (QB)

Aaron Rodgers (QB)
  • Career Earnings: $220 million
  • Seasons: 17
  • Super Bowls: 1
  • Pro Bowls: 10
  • All-Pro: 3

Aaron Rodgers is an American football quarterback for the Green Bay Packers and has been since 2005. He is both a Super Bowl Champion and MVP.  He has also been named an NFL MVP three times now. He has a record of 402 consecutive passes without an interception. 

His college football career began at Butte College before transferring to Berkeley. After joining the NFL in 2005, he became the starting quarterback in 2008. At the age of 38, he's not as good as he was back in the day but is showing no signs of retiring. But then again, who knows what the future holds?

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Matt Ryan (QB)

Matt Ryan (QB)
  • Career Earnings: $243 million
  • Seasons: 14
  • Super Bowls: 0
  • Pro Bowls: 5
  • All-Pro: 1

Matt Ryan has never played the Super Bowl and has played only a single All-Pro Bowl, yet he has managed to earn $243 million in his career. Having played for 14 seasons now and five Pro Bowls, he's still managed to make a name for himself.

Matt Ryan started his college football career at Boston College and then was drafted by the Falcons in 2008. He has remained with the team for the past 14 years due to his great performance. In 2016 he was named MVP and he has a passing completion rate of 65.5%. 

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Philip Rivers (QB)

Philip Rivers (QB)
  • Career Earnings: $243.9 million
  • Seasons: 16
  • Super Bowls: 0
  • Pro Bowls: 8

Philip Rivers was a football quarterback who played in the NFL for 17 years. He played with the Chargers for 16 seasons until he was traded with the Indianapolis Colts with whom he played for only a single season.

Before the NFL, played at North Carolina State in college, where he earned multiple titles including ACC Athlete of the Year, ACC Player of the Year and ACC Offensive Player of the Year. During his NFL career, Philip Rivers was named to eight Pro Bowls and four division titles. Out of 8,134 passing attempts, he had 5,277 passing completions for a completion percentage of 64.9%

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Matthew Stafford (QB)

Matthew Stafford (QB)
  • Career Earnings: $246.5 million
  • Seasons: 13
  • Super Bowls: 0
  • Pro Bowls: 1

Matthew Stafford is currently an American quarterback who plays for the Los Angeles Rams. As one of the best in the NFL, he ranks in the top 20 NFL players for pass attempts, passing yards, completions and passing touchdowns.

Stafford played college football at Georgia before starting his NFL career with the Detroit Lions. He played with them from 2009 to 2020 before getting traded to the Rams in 2021. Stafford was the fastest NFL player to reach 40,000 yards. He was named to the Pro Bowl once but has never played the Super Bowl - at least yet.

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Drew Brees (QB)

Drew Brees (QB)
  • Career Earnings: $247 million
  • Seasons: 20
  • Super Bowls: 1
  • Pro Bowls: 13
  • All-Pro: 1

Drew Brees is a football quarterback who has played for the NFL for 20 seasons. For most of his career, he played for the New Orleans Saints. He was a Super Bowl champion and an MVP. 

Drew Brees played college football at Purdue, where he had set the Big Ten Conference records for passes, completions and yards. Brees then played with the San Diego Chargers from 2001 to 2005 until he was traded in 2006 with the New Orleans Saints. During his time in the NFL, he was named NFL Offensive Player of the Year.

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Peyton Manning (QB)

Peyton Manning (QB)
  • Career Earnings: $249 million
  • Seasons: 18
  • Super Bowls: 2
  • Pro Bowls: 14
  • All-Pro: 7

Peyton Manning is one of the most iconic names in football, so it's no surprise to learn how much he had earned during his career, a whopping $249 million, and when you take into account endorsements and other income, you are looking at closer to $400 million. 

Peyton Manning was a quarterback who played in the NFL for 18 seasons. At the start of his career, he played for the Indianapolis Colts from 1998 to 2011. He then played from the Denver Broncos from 2012 to 2015. He was named NFL MVP five times and he was a Super Bowl Champion twice.

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Ben Roethlisberger (QB)

Ben Roethlisberger (QB)
  • Career Earnings: $253 million
  • Seasons: 18
  • Super Bowls: 2
  • Pro Bowls: 6

Ben Roethlisberger is a football quarterback who has played with the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2004. In the year he started as an NFL player, he earned the AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, and in 2007 got his first Pro Bowl selection.

Ben Roethlisberger played college football at Miami University and was drafted by the Steelers in 2004. In 2006, he become the youngest Super Bowl-winning quarterback in NFL history, leading a victory over the Seattle Seahawks. He was just 23 years old at the time. He remains with the Steelers to this day as one of the most effective passers in NFL history.

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Tom Brady (QB)

Tom Brady (QB)
  • Career Earnings: $291 million
  • Seasons: 23
  • Super Bowls: 10
  • Pro Bowls: 15
  • All-Pro: 3

Tom Brady has had one of the longest football careers. He has played with the New England Patriots from 2000 to 2019 and now he's been with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers since 2020. He's a seven-time Super Bowl Champion and a five-time Super Bowl MVP.

Tom Brady started off on the college football team in Michigan before he was selected by the Patriots in the 2000 NFL draft. He has since been named an NFL MVP three times and has earned multiple other titles over the years such as Offensive Player of the Year - twice.

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