NFL Career Earnings Leaders: Stafford Tops Brady

$408,000,000. That is what Matthew Stafford has earned from NFL contracts, the most of any player in history, according to Over The Cap’s career earnings table. He is still playing, for the Los Angeles Rams, on a one-year deal Over The Cap values at $55 million.

The top of the list surprises people. Kirk Cousins, with no Super Bowl appearances, has out-earned Tom Brady by $13.9 million. Rank the same players with Over The Cap’s adjustment for the growth of the salary cap, though, and the old order returns: Peyton Manning first, Brady second. We pulled the full 1,507-player table on October 28, 2026.

The top 25 career earners

“Career” years as Over The Cap lists them; an open end means still active. Earnings are money paid on NFL contracts, not endorsements.

Five things the table shows

1. Longevity counts for more than titles. Stafford (since 2009), Rodgers (since 2005) and Cousins (since 2012) have each played more than a decade and been paid by more than one team. Cousins’ contracts with Washington, Minnesota and Atlanta add up to $331.5 million without a Super Bowl appearance.

2. It is a quarterback list. Nineteen of the top 20 are quarterbacks, and 28 of the top 50, by our count. The exception in the top 20 is left tackle Trent Williams ($242.9 million, 12th), the man paid to protect a quarterback.

3. The best-paid defenders rush the passer. The highest-earning defensive players are edge rushers: Von Miller ($201.7 million), Khalil Mack ($197.3 million), Danielle Hunter ($186.1 million) and Myles Garrett ($185.2 million). The top wide receiver is Larry Fitzgerald ($182.5 million, 2004–2020).

4. Today’s stars are still climbing. Mahomes is 16th at $231.9 million, Josh Allen 18th at $207.4 million and Lamar Jackson 24th at $187.0 million. Each has a contract worth far more still to be paid: Mahomes’ reworked deal alone was reported by the AP at $504.75 million through 2033.

5. $100 million is no longer rare. By our count, 132 players in the table have earned $100 million or more on NFL contracts.

Adjusted for the cap, the legends return

A dollar paid in 2005 was a much bigger share of a team’s cap than a dollar paid in 2026. Over The Cap’s “cap-inflated earnings” column restates each player’s pay relative to today’s cap. On that measure Peyton Manning ($761.1 million) leads, followed by Brady ($708.2 million), Rodgers ($704.3 million) and Stafford ($688.9 million). Brett Favre, who does not make the nominal top 25, is seventh at $580.4 million.

The comparison explains much of the Stafford-Brady gap: the cap was far lower when Brady signed his early deals. His cap-adjusted figure, $708.2 million, puts him back near the top.

Methodology

1. Source. Every figure comes from Over The Cap’s career earnings table, which we pulled in full (1,507 players) on Wednesday, October 28, 2026.
2. Earnings are what Over The Cap records as paid on NFL contracts. Cap-adjusted is its “cap-inflated earnings” column.
3. Our arithmetic. Counts by position and threshold are our own calculations on the table.
4. Current deals (Stafford’s $55 million) are from Over The Cap’s contract table; Mahomes’ reported contract is from the Associated Press.

The bottom line

The most money ever paid to an NFL player has gone to quarterbacks who were good for a very long time in a rising market. Titles have little to do with it. Stafford, Rodgers and Cousins top the nominal list; on a cap-adjusted basis Manning, Brady and Rodgers do. The current generation signs against a $301.2 million cap: Mahomes’ reworked deal alone, as the AP reported it, is worth more than Stafford’s entire career earnings.

More from Absolute Baller:

• Patrick Mahomes Net Worth 2026: $160M and a $504M Deal
• Highest-Paid NFL Players 2026: Top 25 Contracts
• NFL Quarterback Contracts 2026: Every QB Deal Ranked
• NFL Dead Money 2026: Every Team, and the Biggest Charges
• Why Pro Athletes Go Broke