Football is the undisputed king of American sports today, and the NFL is raking in billions upon billions of dollars each year. That enormous revenue is also trickling down to the players, the very best of whom are getting paid very generously for their services. Let’s take a look at the top 10 NFL players who will be getting the biggest paychecks in the 2016 NFL season below.
And for more sports rich lists, check out the top 10 highest paid MLB players of 2016 here.
10. Kirk Cousins – QB, Washington Redskins ($19.9M)
After a breakout 2015 campaign, Cousins suddenly finds himself among the highest-paid players in the NFL – for this year, at least. Washington signed Cousins on to the one-year non-exclusive franchise tag which will pay him nearly $20 million this season. You like that, Kirk? You like that? (He probably does.)
With Cousins back at the helm, Washington is priced at +300 to successfully defend its NFC East crown this season.
T7. Cam Newton – QB, Carolina Panthers ($20M)
The first year of Newton’s massive $104 million contract paid immediate dividends as he led the Carolina Panthers all the way to the Super Bowl. His base salary kicks up to $13 million this year, and he’ll get the $7 million of his $22.5 million signing bonus this year as well.
That all adds up to a cool $20 million for Cam this year, quite a bargain for a franchise quarterback in his prime. After coming up short last year, Newton and his Panthers are priced at +1,200 to go on and win the Super Bowl this time around.
T7. Drew Brees – QB, New Orleans Saints ($20M)
This is the final year of Brees’ 5-year, $100 million contract, and it’ll pay him an even $20 million. A whopping $19.75 million of that is base salary alone – the highest in the league outside of Cousins’ franchise tag – and the loose change will come from a workout bonus.
T7. Demaryius Thomas – WR, Denver Broncos ($20M)
Thomas isn’t quite the best wide receiver in the NFL, but he’ll be paid like it this season. His base salary will spike up to $13 million, and he’ll also get the deferred $7 million of his $11 million signing bonus, which makes his $20 million easily the most green that’ll be thrown to a wideout in 2016.
6. Brock Osweiler – QB, Houston Texans ($21M)
Somehow, some way, Osweiler was able to parlay seven measly starts last season into a $72 million contract with the Houston Texans. Brockweiler – as Von Miller likes to call him – will receive the entirety of his $12 million signing bonus this season, not to mention a $5 million roster bonus as well as his $4 million in base salary.
If Osweiler can prove to be the significant upgrade to Brian Hoyer and Ryan Mallett that the Texans are paying for, Houston’s +180 odds to claim the AFC South this season could very well pay off.
5. Philip Rivers – QB, San Diego Chargers ($22.5M)
Rivers has a lot of mouths to feed what with his eight kids and all, but he should be able to manage with the cool $22 million he’ll take home this season. Incredibly, that’s $10 million less than what he got last year!
Of course, that was due to his enormous signing bonus after signing a new deal. Rivers will get the remaining $5.5 of his $22.5 million signing bonus this year, along with $16.5 million in base salary.
4. Justin Houston – OLB, Kansas City Chiefs ($23.5M)
Sack machine Justin Houston got capital P Paid by the Kansas City Chiefs last season with a huge $101 million deal. Thanks to that deal, his base salary shoots up to $14.9 million this year. Plus, he gets $8.5 million of his signing bonus as well as a $100,000 workout bonus to make it an even $23.5 million.
T1. Olivier Vernon – DE, New York Giants ($29M)
Speaking of getting paid, the New York Giants backed up the money truck on Olivier Vernon and signed the former Miami Dolphin to a mammoth $85 million deal. He’ll get just $1.75 million in base salary, but will be paid a whopping $27.25 million in various bonuses, putting his total earnings for his first year in East Rutherford at a league-leading $29 million.
T1. Joe Flacco – QB, Baltimore Ravens (29M)
Thanks to a new extension of his contract, Joe Flacco is going to get paid like an elite quarterback once again in 2016. The Ravens QB, who’s coming off a torn ACL, will receive a cool $25 million of his whopping $40 million signing bonus this season, as well as $4 million in base salary.
And the third player set to make $29 million this year is…
T1. Tom Brady – QB, New England Patriots ($29M)
Brady, who also extended his contract with the New England Patriots, will get paid just $1 million in base salary this season, but he will also receive his full $28 million signing bonus. Of course, he might not ever see a quarter of that $1 million if his four-game suspension finally holds up this season. But something tells us he’s not exactly hurting for cash.
The Pats aren’t exactly hurting yet, either, at least according to the odds. They are still installed as -200 favorites to win the AFC East once again, and are huge +650 favorites to win Super Bowl LI.
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