What NFL Players Really Make

Quick. How much money will Patrick Mahomes make in 2025? Before you answer, we are talking in terms of the layman. We either get paid a salary to do our jobs or it’s possible that we are paid an hourly wage. Either way, what we are focusing on here is how much does Mahomes make in salary to play football in 2025. The amount is not what you think.

In fact, we see huge numbers tossed around all the time with professional athletes. Do they really make all that money? Yes and no. Let’s take a look at NFL players, their contracts, and what they earn in a typical year.

The Mahomes Effect

In July of 2020, Mahomes signed the largest contract (at the time) in NFL history. If you want to get technical, Mahomes and Chiefs were simply extending the contract they had in place when they drafted Mahomes in 2017. He and the Chiefs agreed to a new 10-year deal worth a base value of $450 million. The contract also includes incentives which, if achieved, push the value of the contract over $500 million.

Now, that contract has several pieces to it. There are bonuses, incentives, and, of course, salary. Mahomes received a $10 million signing bonus once he signed the new deal. He received roster bonuses in excess of $20 million in 2022 and 2023 and there are a few more of those over the life of the contract. 

There are workout bonuses as well as incentives tied to certain statistics like passing yards and passing touchdowns, but what does Patrick Mahomes make in terms of salary each year? You’d be surprised to know that the three-time Super Bowl MVP will earn $1.255 million this season. 

Wait…what? No, that’s right. Mahomes will earn $1.255 million in salary for this season. What’s even more shocking is that his salary number jumps to … wait for it … $45.35 million next season! His contract has already been amended twice as teams look for ways to navigate the salary cap.

The Most Expensive Backup QB in NFL History

The Atlanta Falcons opened up the checkbook to sign Kirk Cousins prior to the 2024 season. His new contract included a $50 million bonus (imagine the income tax on that!) due at signing. Cousins began the 2024 season as the Falcons starting quarterback but lost the job to rookie Michael Penix Jr. late in the season.

Cousins earned $12.5 million in 2024. It wasn’t an outlandish amount among NFL quarterbacks, but he got a raise in 2025 that had been negotiated into his contract. This season, Cousins is earning $27.5 million! To be the backup!

Interestingly, the highest paid quarterback in the NFL this season, in terms of salary, is Kirk Cousins. His $27.5 million trumps the $25 million of Joe Burrow. No. 3 and No. 4 on the list will probably shock you as well – Tua Tagovailoa ($25.046 million) and Geno Smith ($24 million).

The Best Job in Pro Sports

Some might think the best job in professional sports is being a backup quarterback in the NFL. For Kirk Cousins, it might be true, but backup QBs are always just one play away from being the guy. How about a job where you go on the field three to four times a game and there’s not a ton of pressure (most times).

Ah, the NFL punter. The average number of times a punter must step onto the playing field in an NFL game lands between three and four. Twenty-seven of the 32 punters in the NFL make over $1 million per season. 

Michael Dickson of Seattle is the highest paid at $4.050 million. Logan Cooke of Jacksonville also makes $4 million, and the average sits somewhere around $2.5 million per season. Sure, you may be asked to hold for extra points and field goals, but how many NFL punters can you name? 

That’s the point. Unless you do something horrific – which isn’t very often – life as an NFL punter is good. And so is the paycheck.

How Much NFL Players Make

Across the NFL, the average salary hovers right around $3.2 million. However, this number is skewed by a number of large contracts like the one Patrick Mahomes signed in 2020. If you look at the median NFL salary, you get a better look at what the average NFL player makes per season – around $1 million. 

Remember, this is salary and does not include any signing bonuses, roster bonuses, or incentives. Keep in mind that the majority of players on an NFL roster are not stars. On a given roster, there are also a handful of guys being paid the league minimum.

The NFLPA (NFL Players Association) sets the league minimum salaries in its collective bargaining agreement (CBA). This year, the league minimum for a rookie is $840K. The minimums rise with the level of experience in the league. A player with two years of NFL experience, for example, must earn at least $1.03 million. Of course, he could negotiate with a team and earn more, but he must be paid at least the league minimum.

The Reality of the Big NFL Contract

We’ve seen a number of NFL quarterbacks – Mahomes, Dak Prescott, and Deshaun Watson – sign huge contracts over the last few years. Even LB Micah Parsons signed a massive four-year, $186 million deal with the Packers this year.

In reality, it’s unlikely that players play through the entirety of their contract. Ultimately, that means they do not earn the exorbitant amounts of money that we read about in the media. Take Cousins as an example. 

Do the Falcons want to keep a guy that is set to make $35 million next year and he won’t even be the starting quarterback? Mahomes is 30 years old. He’ll likely begin to lose a little bit of what makes him great over the next few seasons. Will the Chiefs really want to pay a 35-year-old Mahomes $30 million-plus in 2030?

Players get cut. They get traded and when they don’t play out their contract, they don’t collect. Now, there are more guarantees built into NFL contracts and those monies are paid out, but the reality of long-term, huge contracts in the NFL is that players never see the entirety of the deal.

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