As we see every year, the NFL is undergoing a financial reset.
Between free-agent deals, extensions and trades with subsequent contracts, players at five different positions received record-setting deals, including receiver and cornerback. The Seahawks gave Jaxon Smith-Njigba a four-year extension and will have him for another six seasons, while the Rams surrendered four draft picks, including a 2026 first-rounder, to acquire star corner Trent McDuffie before giving him $100 million in guaranteed money.
For the purposes of this exercise, we’re ranking the top players at each position based on annual value. In many cases, the total value and guaranteed money also top their respective positions (such as McDuffie), but annual value rules the day here.
We’ll start at quarterback, where the Cowboys are paying a fortune to Dak Prescott.
Quarterback: Dak Prescott
Team: Dallas Cowboys
Salary: $60 million per year
Prescott signed a four-year, $240 million contract in 2024, giving him an annual salary that still hasn’t been approached. Nobody else has even eclipsed $55 million, with Jordan Love, Joe Burrow, Trevor Lawrence and Josh Allen all at that figure. Considering the inflation of both the salary cap and quarterback salaries, Prescott likely won’t hold this perch for long.
Running back: Saquon Barkley
Team: Philadelphia Eagles
Salary: $20.6 million per year
Only two running backs are over the $15 million per year threshold, with Christian McCaffrey just shy of Barkley’s $20.6 million figure. Barkley was given the new-money extension after his 2,000-yard season in 2024, leading the Eagles to their second Super Bowl title. Even with the running back renaissance, the only back who might challenge this number in the coming years is Atlanta’s Bijan Robinson.
Wide receiver: Jaxon Smith-Njigba
Team: Seattle Seahawks
Salary: $42.1 million per year
Smith-Njigba had one of the best seasons in recent memory for a receiver, catching 119 passes for a league-high 1,793 yards and 10 touchdowns, helping lead the Seahawks to the Super Bowl. A month after hoisting the Lombardi Trophy, Smith-Njigba was made the highest-paid wideout in NFL history, signing a four-year, $168.6 million extension that begins once his rookie contract expires after the 2027 campaign.
Tight end: George Kittle
Team: San Francisco 49ers
Salary: $19.1 million per year
Kittle, 32, is entering the twilight phase of his career but still holds the top financial mark at the position. Signed through the 2029 season, Kittle is highly unlikely to get another big-money deal and could be passed by Tucker Kraft, Sam LaPorta and/or Kyle Pitts Sr. in the coming offseason, with all three slated for free agency.
Tackle: Laremy Tunsil
Team: Washington Commanders
Salary: $30.1 million per year
Tunsil is a five-time Pro Bowler. In his first year with Washington, Tunsil played only 14 games but is still getting paid top dollar and is signed for the next three seasons. This contract could hold up or age poorly, especially if durability becomes an issue for Tunsil, who will turn 32 in August.
Guard: Tyler Smith
Team: Dallas Cowboys
Salary: $24 million per year
The Cowboys aren’t always known for doing smart business, but they should be applauded for their work with Smith’s deal. Getting ahead of an even larger payday, Smith was given a four-year, $96 million extension two years before his rookie deal expired, signing him through 2030. Already a three-time Pro Bowler, Smith looks like a bargain, even at a market-setting price.
Center: Tyler Linderbaum
Team: Las Vegas Raiders
Salary: $27 million per year
Few contracts are genuinely stunning, but what the Raiders signed Linderbaum to certainly qualifies. Las Vegas essentially gave Linderbaum a fully guaranteed $81 million deal over three years, blowing past the previous top contract for a center, which was four years and $72 million for Kansas City’s Creed Humphrey. It’ll be quite some time before someone eclipses Linderbaum’s deal.
Edge rusher: Micah Parsons
Team: Green Bay Packers
Salary: $46.5 million per year
Parsons took the league by storm as a 2021 first-round pick of the Cowboys, amassing 52.5 sacks in Dallas while becoming a three-time All-Pro and Defensive Rookie of the Year. After being traded to the Packers, Parsons inked a long-term extension, making him the highest-paid nonquarterback in the league. Don’t expect that number to be beaten soon on the edge market.
Defensive tackle: Chris Jones
Team: Kansas City Chiefs
Salary: $31.75 million per year
Jones, 31, is the rare player who has gotten two massive contracts after his rookie deal expired. A future Hall of Famer and three-time Super Bowl champion, Jones signed a five-year, $158 million deal in 2024, tying him to Kansas City through the ’28 campaign. While Jones is unlikely to see the last year of that pact, it could be enough to keep him with the Chiefs until he retires.
Linebacker: Fred Warner
Team: San Francisco 49ers
Salary: $21 million per year
Warner is a future first-ballot Hall of Famer, and he’s being compensated like one. He is the highest-paid off-ball linebacker in the league, earning $21 million annually on a three-year extension that begins in 2027. By the time his contract runs out, Warner will be 33 years old.
Cornerback: Trent McDuffie
Team: Los Angeles Rams
Salary: $31 million per year
McDuffie has enjoyed a tremendous career thus far. After being a 2022 first-round pick by the Chiefs, he was on a pair of Super Bowl–winning teams. Then, when negotiations on an extension broke down this offseason, he was traded to the Super Bowl–favorite Rams, who gave him a market-setting $124 million over four years, including $100 million guaranteed. Not bad for the two-time All-Pro, who is yet to turn 26 years old.
Safety: Kyle Hamilton
Team: Baltimore Ravens
Salary: $25.1 million per year
Drafted No. 14 in 2022, Hamilton has quickly become one of the league’s best players. A three-time All-Pro, the former Notre Dame standout was given a $100.4 million deal over four seasons, kicking in next season. While the safety position is deep in talent, it’s tough to see anybody eclipsing Hamilton’s money in the next few years.
Kicker: Ka’imi Fairbairn
Team: Houston Texans
Salary: $6.5 million per year
Fairbairn got a record-setting deal with the Texans this winter, landing a three-year, $13 million deal to stay with the Texans. In 2025, Fairbairn connected on 44-of-48 field goals while also nailing all 28 extra point attempts.
Punter: Jordan Stout
Team: New York Giants
Salary: $4.1 million per year
Stout reset the market this offseason, jumping from the Ravens to the Giants to join forces with coach John Harbaugh. At $4.1 million, Stout is coming off a first-team All-Pro campaign in which he averaged 50.1 yards per punt with 24 kicks landing inside the 20-yard line.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Top-Paid Players at Every Position After NFL Free Agency.
