15 Highest-Paid NFL Players Who Have Never Won a Super Bowl

The Super Bowl is the pinnacle of an NFL player’s career, the ultimate destination and goaleach season. It’s what players get paid to do, and the players representing the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII on Feb. 12 undoubtedly are delighted to be there.

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But for every well-paid success story such as Tom Brady, who won seven Super Bowl championships, there are plenty of players raking in big money who have never won it all.

GOBankingRates used Spotrac and Pro Football Reference data to find the 15 highest-paid players in 2022 who have never played on a team that has won the Super Bowl.

You’ll recognize some of the names on this list.

Team: Indianapolis Colts

Position: Quarterback

2022 Salary Cap Hit: $18,705,882

Matt Ryan was the quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons team that took a 21-3 lead into halftime of Super Bowl LI in 2017. The Falcons added a third-quarter touchdown to go up 28-3, and the Patriots and their quarterback, Tom Brady, rallied to score 31 unanswered points for a 34-28 overtime win. Ryan was the league MVP that season.

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Team: Denver Broncos

Position: Free Safety

2022 Salary Cap Hit: $18,850,000

The Broncos selected Justin Simmons in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft, and he’s been an impact player since. Simmons has 27 interceptions in 103 career games, but all have come in the regular season. The Broncos haven’t qualified for the playoffs since drafting Simmons.

Team: Carolina Panthers

Position: Quarterback

2022 Salary Cap Hit: $18,858,000

The New York Jets selected Sam Darnold with the No. 3 overall pick of the 2018 draft, but that pedigree hasn’t translated to NFL success. After three seasons, the Jets traded him to the Panthers, and he’s yet to be part of a playoff team. In 55 career starts, his record is 21-34. Still only 25, he has time to reach that elusive postseason game.

Team: Los Angeles Chargers

Position: Wide receiver

2022 Salary Cap Hit: $19,200,000

Keenan Allen has been in the NFL for 10 seasons, making the postseason three times. In 2013 and 2018, the Chargers reached the AFC divisional playoffs before falling short. In 2022, the Chargers lost in a heartbreaker in the wild-card round, squandering a 27-point lead. Allen is a five-time Pro Bowl selection. He signed a four-year, $80.1 million contract extension in September 2020.

Team: Tennessee Titans

Position: Defensive end

2022 Salary Cap Hit: $19,200,000

Bud Dupree has played eight seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Titans, highlighted by an 11.5-sack season with the Steelers in 2019. Dupree came one game short of the Super Bowl in the 2016 playoffs, losing 36-17 to the New England Patriots. In 2021, he signed a five-year, $82.5 million deal with Tennessee.

Team: Las Vegas Raiders

Position: Quarterback

2022 Salary Cap Hit: $19,375,000

The Raiders have been to the playoffs twice with Carr at quarterback, although he was injuredin 2016 and couldn’t play. He and the Raiders lost 26-19 to the Cincinnati Bengals in an AFC wild-card game in the 2021 playoffs.

Carr entered the 2022 season having signed a three-year, $121.5 million extension, which madehim one of nine quarterbacks averaging $40 million or more per year. The Raiders likely will release or trade Carr this offseason in a cost-saving move.

Team: Dallas Cowboys

Position: Quarterback

2022 Salary Cap Hit: $19,730,000

The Cowboys haven’t been to a Super Bowl since a 27-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1996, and Dak Prescott has only two playoff victories in his career. One came in this season’s playoffs, when the Cowboys beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC wild-card game, then lost to the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round.

He signed a four-year, $160 million contract in 2021 and received $95 million fully guaranteed at signing.

Team: Denver Broncos

Position: Left tackle

2022 Salary Cap Hit: $21,000,000

Garett Bolles came into the NFL in 2017 and has yet to make the playoffs. The Broncos’ mostrecent playoff journey came in the 2015 postseason and culminated in a victory in Super Bowl 50 with Peyton Manning at quarterback.

Bolles signed a four-year, $68 million extension in 2020 and is tied for eighth in the NFL’s left tackle pay hierarchy, at $17 million a year.

Team: New York Giants

Position: Wide receiver

2022 Salary Cap Hit: $21,150,000

Kenny Golladay never got close to the playoffs in the first four seasons of his NFL career with the Detroit Lions. The Lions most recently reached the postseason the year before he was drafted.

He joined the New York Giants in 2021 on a four-year, $72 million deal, but his tenure with the Giants has been a disappointment. He played in 12 games (four starts) in 2022 but was targeted only 17 times. Golladay caught six passes for 81 yards and a touchdown. The Giants made the playoffs and won in the NFC wild-card round before losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in the divisional round, but Golladay was not a factor in his team’s offense in either game.

Team: Baltimore Ravens

Position: Quarterback

2022 Salary Cap Hit: $23,016,000

Lamar Jackson is one of the best offensive threats in the NFL today, but he and the Ravens haven’t gotten to the AFC Championship Game yet. The closest the Ravens came was a 17-3 loss to the Bills in the 2020 playoffs.

Jackson missed the final five weeks of the 2022 season due to a knee injury, and he alsowas unable to play in the team’s wild-card loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Jackson and the Ravens have yet to reach an agreement on a long-term contract, and it is possible the team will put the franchise tag on Jackson to keep him in Baltimore at least another year.

Team: Pittsburgh Steelers

Position: Linebacker

2022 Salary Cap Hit: $24,368,694

T.J. Watt won the NFL defensive player of the year award in 2021. He has reached the playoffsthree times but has yet to win a postseason game. That year, Watt became the highest-paid outside linebacker when he signed a four-year contract extension worth $112 million. Since then, his contract total has fallen to third highest at his position.

Team: Los Angeles Chargers

Position: Defensive end

2022 Salary Cap Hit: $28,250,000

Joey Bosa, considered one of the best pass rushers in the NFL, has made the playoffs twice, including this season – a Chargers’ loss in the wild-card round. They also lost to the New England Patriots following the 2018 season. Bosa is playing on a five-year, $135 million extension that included a $35 million signing bonus and $102 million in guaranteed money.

Team: Detroit Lions

Position: Quarterback

2022 Salary Cap Hit: $31,150,000

Jared Goff helped the Los Angeles Rams reach Super Bowl LIII after the 2018 season, but he fell short of a title when the Rams lost 13-3 to the New England Patriots. Now with the Lions, Goff still is seeking that elusive championship.

He has two years left on a $134 million extension he signed with the Rams in 2019, before theytraded him to Detroit in 2021.

Team: Minnesota Vikings

Position: Quarterback

2022 Salary Cap Hit: $31,416,668

Kirk Cousins led the Vikings to the No. 3 seed in the 2022 playoffs, but they were upset by the New York Giants in the NFC wild-card round, 31-24. He has reached the postseason five times in his career, starting four of the games (1-3 record).

He appeared in two games with the Washington franchise (2012 and 2015) and lost both. The Vikings were a winner in the 2019 NFC wild-card game against the New Orleans Saints but lost to the 49ers in the divisional round.

Team: Tennessee Titans

Position: Quarterback

2022 Salary Cap Hit: $38,600,000

Ryan Tannehill has yet to play in a Super Bowl, but he led the Titans to the AFC Championship Game in the 2019 season; they lost 35-24 to the Kansas City Chiefs. Tennessee lost toBaltimore in a wild-card game the next season, then fell 19-16 to the Cincinnati Bengals in the divisional round in 2021. Tannehill missed the final three games of the 2022 season due to an ankle injury, and the Titans failed to qualify for the playoffs.

Tannehill signed a four-year, $118 million contract with the Titans in 2020.

_{Methodology: GOBankingRates used Spotrac and Pro Football Reference data to find the 15 highest-paid players (in terms of 2022 cap hit) who never have played on a team that has won the Super Bowl. For the top 15 highest-paid players who have never won a Super Bowl, GOBankingRates found (where applicable) each player’s; (1) 2022 cap hit; (2) 2022 base salary; (3) 2022 signing bonuses; (4) 2022 roster bonuses; and (5) 2022 miscellaneous pay, including restructuring, contract incentives and workout bonuses. All data was collected and is up to date as of Jan. 30, 2023.}

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Jami Farkas contributed to the reporting of this article.