Maxx Crosby reset the market for players who aren’t quarterbacks when the Las Vegas Raiders rewarded the star pass rusher with a contract that made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history on Thursday. The three-year, $106.5 million contract puts Crosby at a $35.5 million average annual salary, changing the game for pass rushers and non-quarterbacks everywhere. The Raiders got Crosby’s deal done at $91.5 million guaranteed.
Crosby’s time as the league’s highest-paid, non-QB lasted three days. Myles Garrett now owns that title with the Cleveland Browns re-signing the 2023 NFL Defensive Player of the Year to a four-year extension on Sunday that runs his average per year salary up to $40 million with a historic $122.8 million guaranteed. This deal will certainly impact other non-quarterbacks whose agents are popping bottles while negotiating extensions for their superstar clients. Micah Parsons, Ja’Marr Chase, Aidan Hutchinson and Trey Hendrickson are awaiting new contracts and stand to benefit the most from Garrett’s new deal.
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
| Myles Garrett | Cleveland Browns | DE | $40,000,000 |
|
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 |
|
A.J. Brown |
Philadelphia Eagles |
WR |
$32,000,000 |
| Chris Jones | Kansas City Chiefs | DT | $31,750,000 |
|
Amon-Ra St. Brown |
Detroit Lions |
WR |
$30,002,500 |
| DK Metcalf | Pittsburgh Steelers | WR | $30,000,000 |
|
Tyreek Hill |
Miami Dolphins |
WR |
$30,000,000 |
|
Brandon Aiyuk |
San Francisco 49ers |
WR |
$30,000,000 |
Wide receivers still dominate the highest-paid non-quarterbacks list based on average per year salary, as six of them are in the top 10 with Hill and Aiyuk tied for 10th. Pass rushers take up three positions on the list with Garrett, Crosby and Bosa as the three 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 | $122,796,12 |
| Nick Bosa | San Francisco 49ers | DE | $122,500,000 |
| 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 |
| Penei Sewell | Detroit Lions | OT | $85,000,000 |
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. The offensive tackle position (Wirfs and Sewell) and the wide receiver position (Jefferson and Lamb) are equally represented.
These two charts hammer home why Garrett’s deal will set the barometer for Watt, Parsons, Hendrickson, and other pass rushers seeking extensions. Of the wide receivers set for contract extensions, Chase is the player set to get paid — and may join Garrett as the second $40 million non-quarterback.
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 could be the dynamite that ushers in a wave of record-setting spending this offseason.
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