The 10 highest-paid NFL stars in 2021

We all know there is a lot of money in professional sports. It is staggering the amount of money some of the richest players in the National Football League actually make. Here is a list of the top 10 salaries of NFL stars in 2021 in relation to their average annual value. It is interesting that all 10 players on the list are quarterbacks. (Salary information courtesy of nfl.com).

  10. Matt Ryan

• Team: Atlanta Falcons
• Age: 36
• Salary: $30 million
• Contracted through: 2023

Matt Ryan continues to be the Falcons quarterback despite the franchise going through a tumultuous time period since reaching the Super Bowl in 2017. Over the last four seasons, the Falcons have had a record of 23 wins and 37 losses. The problem in Atlanta at the moment seems to be a lack of reliable weapons for Ryan to work with. The running back situation is in disarray, and in the offseason, the Falcons traded their star wide receiver, Julio Jones to the Tennessee Titans. 

   9.  Carson Wentz

• Team: Indianapolis Colts
• Age: 28
• Salary: $32 million
• Contracted through: 2024

In the offseason, the Indianapolis Colts acquired Carson Wentz in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles. So far this season, Wentz has definitely rebounded after a terrible 2020 NFL season where he led the league with 15 interceptions and 50 times being sacked. In 2021, with a strong offensive line, Wentz has completed 266 passes in 420 attempts for 2948 yards. It also helps that the Colts have the best running back in football at the moment in Jonathan Taylor, who has a base salary of only $965,870.

  8. Kirk Cousins

• Team: Minnesota Vikings
• Age: 33
• Salary: $33 million
• Contracted through: 2022

So what can we say about Kirk Cousins? We simply need more than a paragraph to talk about his puzzling NFL career. There have been times of brilliance and times of complete mediocrity while with Washington, and now Minnesota. Case in point this season, where the Vikings and Cousins looked great in Week 11 offensively in a 34-31 win over the Green Bay Packers, but then lose 29-27 to the Detroit Lions in Week 13.

   6.  Jared Goff

• Team: Detroit Lions
• Age: 27
• Salary: $33.5 million
• Contracted through: 2024

In the NFL offseason, the biggest trade was between the Los Angeles Rams and Detroit Lions, as the teams dealt former first overall draft picks. The Rams acquired Matt Stafford and the Lions acquired Jared Goff on March 18. It is has been a tough season for the Lions, as the club has only won one game, and that was this past Sunday against Minnesota. Off the field, Goff is also making headlines. That is because he is dating Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Christen Harper according to Jaclyn Hendricks of the New York Post.

     6.  Aaron Rodgers

• Team: Green Bay Packers
• Age: 38
• Salary: $33.5 million
• Contracted through: 2023 (potential out after 2021)

The fact that Aaron Rodgers is even quarterbacking the Green Bay Packers is a surprise to many, after he indicated in the offseason that he wasn’t sure if he wanted to be with the Cheeseheads this season. However, money talks and Rodgers is a making a bundle of it this season. It also helps that the Packers have a strong offensive line, and two other offensive weapons in running back Aaron Jones and wide receiver Davante Adams. With a record of nine wins and three losses, the Packers comfortably lead the NFC North, and have the capability of winning the Super Bowl this season.

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        5. Russell Wilson

• Team: Seattle Seahawks
• Age: 33
• Salary: $35 million
• Contracted through: 2023 (potential out after 2021)

It has been a tough season for the Seattle Seahawks as they are about to have their first losing season with Russell Wilson at the helm. Prior to this season, Wilson had a regular season record of 98-45-1. However this season, the Seahawks are only at four wins and eight losses, and Wilson missed time with a finger injury. Off the field, Wilson and his wife, singer Ciara need to be praised for their humanitarianism. They have donated millions of dollars to charities.

         4. DeShaun Watson

• Team: Houston Texans
• Age: 26
• Salary: $39 million
• Contracted through: 2025 (potential out after 2023)

For all of the tremendous things Russell Wilson has done off the field in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, we cannot say the same thing at the moment for Texans quarterback DeShaun Watson, whose off field issues include facing 22 lawsuits from women who have accused Watson of sexual misconduct and sexual assault. As a result, Watson has not played a game in 2021, and his future with the Texans looks very bleak. He is still on the Texans roster for the time being, but any team that plays Watson could be in for a public relations nightmare.

    3. Dak Prescott

• Team: Dallas Cowboys
• Age: 28
• Salary: $40 million
• Contracted through: 2025 (potential out after 2023)

A year ago, Dak Prescott was having an amazing season. He was leading the NFL with 7.72 net yards gained per pass attempt, and had a miraculous 371.2 passing yards per game. Then he broke his ankle against the New York Giants in week five, and was done for the season. The Cowboys meanwhile missed the playoffs after going 6-10. Things are going much better in Dallas at this time. The Cowboys lead the NFC East with a record of eight wins and four losses. After 11 games in 2021, Prescott has completed 69% of his passes, with 3170 passing yards.

     2. Josh Allen

• Team: Buffalo Bills
• Age: 25
• Salary: $43 million
• Contracted through: 2028 (potential out after 2025)

It has been a solid season for Bills quarterback Josh Allen. (Or at least it was until Monday night when he could not beat a rookie quarterback who had only three pass attempts the whole game!) One could argue that the Bills have not had so much stability at the quarterback position since the days of Jim Kelly. (Doug Flutie was an outstanding quarterback, but Bills head coach Wade Phillips seemed to prefer the ineffective Rob Johnson instead).  Allen meanwhile is coming off a Pro Bowl season, where he had 37 touchdown passes a year ago. Despite the 14-10 loss to the New England Patriots on Monday, the Bills are still at 7-5. Still, they cannot have anymore poor performances like they did earlier this season against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts, if they hope to make the playoffs.

         1. Patrick Mahomes

• Team: Kansas City Chiefs
• Age: 26
• Salary: $45 million
• Contracted through: 2031

Despite a Super Bowl loss in January to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where a horrible Kansas City Chiefs offensive line needed to be blamed, life has been very good the last couple of seasons for the Kansas City Chiefs with Patrick Mahomes at quarterback. How good? Well the Chiefs did win the Super Bowl by beating the San Francisco 49ers 31-20 right before the coronavirus outbreak. Mahomes has also won the 2018 NFL MVP award, and has been selected to the Pro Bowl on three occasions. The 10-year contract worth $503 million that Mahomes signed last July was absolutely humungous. 

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