Here’s How Much Aaron Rodgers and the Highest-Paid Players on Every NFL Team Make

Player contracts in the National Football League are complex, and all 32 teams employ experts who work to put together rosters that fit the team’s needs on the field and their “budgets” off of it. A team’s budget actually is the league’s salary cap, which is the limit it can pay the 53 players on the roster combined. The salary cap for the 2022 season is $208.2 million.

Although that sounds like a lot of cash to throw around to players, it really isn’t when you consider teams could have just one player whose pay in one year can account for 10% — or much more — of a team’s salary cap. That’s why teams feature a mix of players earning superstar money, well-compensated veterans, and lower-paid rookies along with layers plucked from the waiver wire.

A salary cap “hit,” as it is called, is more than just a player’s base pay. It accounts for various components of a player’s contract, including salary, plus signing bonuses spread across the life of the contract as well as other bonuses and incentives. 

As you watch your favorite teams during the 2022 NFL season, just which players are earning the most cash, and how much of that precious salary cap are they gobbling up? GOBankingRates ranked the highest-paid player on each NFL team according to their salary cap hit for the 2022 season.

Take a closer look at who earns the most on your favorite NFL squad.

• Player: Poona Ford
• Position: Defensive tackle
• 2022 cap hit: $10,075,000
• 2022 base salary: $7,900,000

• Player: Emmanuel Ogbah
• Position: Defensive end
• 2022 cap hit: $11,350,000
• 2022 base salary: $4,000,000

• Player: Myles Garrett
• Position: Defensive end
• 2022 cap hit: $12,961,000
• 2022 base salary: $1,035,000

• Player: Michael Thomas
• Position: Wide receiver
• 2022 cap hit: $13,048,000
• 2022 base salary: $1,035,000

• Player: Jimmy Garoppolo
• Position: Quarterback
• 2022 cap hit: $13,991,176
• 2022 base salary: $6,500,000

• Player: Trey Hendrickson
• Position: Defensive end
• 2022 cap hit: $14,488,235
• 2022 base salary: $5,800,000

• Player: Tre’Davious White
• Position: Cornerback
• 2022 cap hit: $16,403,755
• 2022 base salary: $9,950,000

• Player: Shaquill Griffin
• Position: Cornerback
• 2022 cap hit: $16,441,176
• 2022 base salary: $11,500,000

• Player: Matt Judon
• Position: Outside linebacker
• 2022 cap hit: $16,500,000
• 2022 base salary: $1,100,000

• Player: Robert Quinn
• Position: Outside linebacker
• 2022 cap hit: $17,137,500
• 2022 base salary: $12,800,000

• Player: C.J. Moseley
• Position: Inside linebacker
• 2022 cap hit: $17,500,000
• 2022 base salary: $16,000,000

• Player: Laremy Tunsil
• Position: Left tackle
• 2022 cap hit: $17,708,988
• 2022 base salary: $1,035,000

• Player: Javon Hargrave
• Position: Defensive tackle
• 2022 cap hit: $17,802,000
• 2022 base salary: $12,750,000

• Player: DeAndre Hopkins
• Position: Wide receiver
• 2022 cap hit: $17,950,000
• 2022 base salary: $6,650,000

• Player: Donovan Smith
• Position: Left tackle
• 2022 cap hit: $18,400,000
• 2022 base salary: $15,750,000

• Player: Matt Ryan
• Position: Quarterback
• 2022 cap hit: $18,705,882
• 2022 base salary: $5,205,882

• Player: Sam Darnold
• Position: Quarterback
• 2022 cap hit: $18,858,000
• 2022 base salary: $18,858,000

• Player: Derek Carr
• Position: Quarterback
• 2022 cap hit: $19,352,519
• 2022 base salary: $17,377,529

• Player: Dak Prescott
• Position: Quarterback
• 2022 cap hit: $19,730,000
• 2022 base salary: $1,600,000

• Player: Deion Jones
• Position: Inside linebacker
• 2022 cap hit: $20,018,431
• 2022 base salary: $9,640,000

• Player: Lamar Jackon
• Position: Quarterback
• 2022 cap hit: $23,016,000
• 2022 base salary: $23,016,000

• Player: Russell Wilson
• Position: Quarterback
• 2022 cap hit: $24,000,000
• 2022 base salary: $19,000,000

• Player: Aaron Donald
• Position: Defensive tackle
• 2022 cap hit: $24,000,000
• 2022 base salary: $1,500,000

• Player: Leonard Williams
• Position: Defensive end
• 2022 cap hit: $27,300,000
• 2022 base salary: $19,000,000

• Player: Joey Bosa
• Position: Defensive end
• 2022 cap hit: $28,250,000
• 2022 base salary: $21,250,000

• Player: Carson Wentz
• Position: Quarterback
• 2022 cap hit: $28,294,119
• 2022 base salary: $22,000,001

• Player: Aaron Rodgers
• Position: Quarterback
• 2022 cap hit: $28,533,569
• 2022 base salary: $1,150,000

• Player: T.J. Watt
• Position: Outside linebacker
• 2022 cap hit: $31,118,694
• 2022 base salary: $24,000,000

• Player: Jared Goff
• Position: Quarterback
• 2022 cap hit: $31,150,000
• 2022 base salary: $10,650,000

• Player: Kirk Cousins
• Position: Quarterback
• 2022 cap hit: $31,416,668
• 2022 base salary: $5,000,000

• Player: Patrick Mahomes
• Position: Quarterback
• 2022 cap hit: $35,793,381
• 2022 base salary: $1,500,000

• Player: Ryan Tannehill
• Position: Quarterback
• 2022 cap hit: $38,600,000
• 2022 base salary: $29,000,000

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Jami Farkas and Joel Anderson contributed to the reporting for this article. 

Methodology: In order to find the highest-paid player on every NFL team, GOBankingRates used Spotrac’s salary rankings data for the 2022 NFL season. The highest-paid player on each team was determined in terms of cap hit. For each highest-paid player their base salary for the corresponding season was also included as supplemental data. All data and figures were collected and are up to date as of Aug. 24, 2022.