Dak Prescott is currently the highest paid NFL player, with an average annual contract value of about 60 million dollars per season with the Dallas Cowboys.

Quick Scoop: Who Is The Highest Paid NFL Player?

Headline answer

If you’re asking “who is the highest paid NFL player” right now in terms of pure contract money per year, the crown belongs to Dak Prescott , quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, thanks to his blockbuster extension signed before the 2024 season.

He agreed to a four-year, 420 million dollar extension, which works out to 60 million dollars per year in average annual value (AAV), putting him at the top of the NFL salary mountain for the 2025–26 window.

How Dak Prescott Took The No. 1 Spot

  • Prescott signed a four‑year extension with Dallas before the 2024 season.
  • The total value of that extension is 420 million dollars, which equals 60 million dollars per year in AAV.
  • That AAV is currently the highest in the league, ahead of other elite quarterbacks clustered in the mid‑50 million range.

In contract‑talk circles, “highest paid” usually means the average annual value of a player’s deal, not a single season’s cash flow or total guarantees, which is why Prescott sits at No. 1 even though other stars have record guarantees.

Other Big‑Money Names Right Behind Him

A wave of younger franchise quarterbacks is packed right behind Prescott:

  • Joe Burrow (Bengals) – 55 million dollars per year.
  • Josh Allen (Bills) – 55 million dollars per year and a record 250 million dollars in total guarantees.
  • Trevor Lawrence (Jaguars) – 55 million dollars per year after a huge extension in 2024.
  • Jordan Love (Packers) – 55 million dollars per year after his own 2024 extension.

All of them signed mega‑deals as the cap and quarterback market kept surging, but they still sit just below Prescott’s 60‑million‑per‑year line.

If You Mean “Highest Paid” In Total Earnings

There’s also another way people sometimes phrase “who is the highest paid NFL player” – by including both on‑field salary and off‑field endorsements for a particular year.

  • For the 2025 financial year, estimates from rich‑list style reporting put Patrick Mahomes at or near the top in combined earnings, with around 78 million dollars split between his Chiefs money and big endorsement portfolio.
  • Josh Allen and Justin Herbert also rank extremely high when you add sponsorships to their already massive quarterback contracts.

So, in simple terms:

  • Highest paid by contract AAV: Dak Prescott (60M per year).
  • Highest overall yearly income (contract + endorsements, recent list): Patrick Mahomes has led that pack.

Why Quarterbacks Dominate This Conversation

  • The NFL is a quarterback‑driven league, and QB play has an outsized impact on wins, TV ratings, and franchise value.
  • As media money and league revenues grow, top quarterbacks keep “resetting the market” with each new extension, which is why so many QBs now sit above 50 million dollars per year.

Non‑quarterbacks can still hit jaw‑dropping numbers—T.J. Watt, Ja’Marr Chase, Myles Garrett and others have reset the market at their positions—but none of them currently match Prescott’s 60‑million AAV.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.