Wasn’t that long ago Maxx Crosby reset the market for players who aren’t quarterbacks. Since Crosby signed an extension earlier this offseason that put him at a $35.5 million average annual salary, three players have since surpassed that mark over the next two weeks.
Myles Garrett previously owned that title as the Cleveland Browns gave him a $40 million extension with a historic $122.8 million guaranteed. Just a week later, Ja’Marr Chase reset the market as the Cincinnati Bengals gave him a four-year, $161 million deal that pays him an average of $40.25 million a season. Danielle Hunter also landed a one-year, $35.6 million extension from the Houston Texans, bumping up his average annual salary to $35.6 million.
With Chase joining Garrett in the $40 million non-quarterback club, Chase’s deal will certainly impact other non-quarterbacks whose agents are popping bottles while negotiating extensions for their superstar clients. Micah Parsons, Aidan Hutchinson and Trey Hendrickson are awaiting new contracts and stand to benefit the most from Garrett and Chase’s new deals.
This list will certainly change over the course of the offseason, but here are the 10 highest-paid non-quarterbacks in the NFL at this very moment.
Highest-paid non-quarterbacks in average annual salary
| Ja’Marr Chase | Cincinnati Bengals | WR | $40,250,000 |
| Myles Garrett | Cleveland Browns | DE | $40,000,000 |
| Danielle Hunter | Houston Texans | DE | $35,600,000 |
|
Maxx Crosby |
Las Vegas Raiders |
DE |
$35,500,000 |
|
Justin Jefferson |
Minnesota Vikings |
WR |
$35,000,000 |
|
CeeDee Lamb |
Dallas Cowboys |
WR |
$34,000,000 |
|
Nick Bosa |
San Francisco 49ers |
DE |
$34,000,000 |
| DK Metcalf | Pittsburgh Steelers | WR | $33,000,000 |
|
A.J. Brown |
Philadelphia Eagles |
WR |
$32,000,000 |
| Chris Jones | Kansas City Chiefs | DT | $31,750,000 |
Wide receivers still dominate the highest-paid non-quarterbacks list based on average per year salary, as five of them are in the top 10 with Hill. Pass rushers take up four positions on the list with Garrett, Crosby, Hunter and Bosa as the four edge rushers who make $30+ million a year. Jones is the outlier as an interior defensive lineman, the only one to make $30+ million a year.
Now, let’s take a look at the highest-paid non-QBs in terms of guaranteed salary, a list that many would argue is even more important than a contract’s average per year salary because APY can sometimes be artificially inflated by backloading a deal with money teams intended to never actually pay out. All the money below is cash each respective player will see.
Highest-paid non-quarterbacks in guaranteed salary
| Myles Garrett | Cleveland Browns | DE | $122,796,120 |
| Nick Bosa | San Francisco 49ers | DE | $122,500,000 |
| Ja’Marr Chase | Cincinnati Bengals | WR | $112,000,000 |
| Justin Jefferson | Minnesota Vikings | WR | $110,000,000 |
| CeeDee Lamb | Dallas Cowboys | WR | $100,000,000 |
| Chris Jones | Kansas City Chiefs | DT | $95,000,000 |
|
Maxx Crosby |
Las Vegas Raiders |
DE |
$91,500,000 |
| Tristan Wirfs | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | OT | $88,240,000 |
| Joshua Hines-Allen | Jacksonville Jaguars | DE | $88,000,000 |
| Brian Burns | New York Giants | DE | $87,500,000 |
Chase became the highest-paid wide receiver in NFL history in guaranteed money, getting $112 million from the Bengals in his massive extension. He broke Jefferson’s mark set last offseason, but remains in third among non-quarterbacks behind Garrett and Bosa.
Players who line up in the trenches along the line of scrimmage dominate the guaranteed money top 10 list for non-QBs. Six pass rushers, five of whom are edge rushers (Garrett, Bosa, Crosby, Hines-Allen and Burns) and one interior defensive lineman (Jones), lead the way.
Danielle Hunter extension: Texans make veteran pass-rusher one of highest paid at his position, per report
Garrett Podell
These two charts hammer home why Garrett’s deal sets the barometer for Watt, Parsons, Hendrickson and other pass rushers seeking extensions. All these contracts were signed over the last two years, with Bosa setting the standard with his five-year, $170 million extension with $122.5 million guaranteed in 2023. These numbers will certainly go up with the rising salary cap and the ballooning wide receiver market.
Garrett’s extension is the dynamite that ushers in a wave of record-setting spending this offseason, with Chase surpassing his average annual salary just a week later.
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