NFL Salary Range

NFL salaries depends on several factors. The first is how many years the player has been in the league. Second is how good the player is or how good the player is expected to be. Third is the league salary cap, which is set on an annual basis.

  1. The Rookies

    • In April 2009 the Detroit Lions made Matthew Stafford the highest-paid rookie ever when they agreed to a $78 million deal. Of that, $41.7 million is guaranteed money, no matter what happens down the road. Stafford signed this deal before ever throwing a single pass at an NFL level. Of course, not all rookies get deals like this. The minimum salary for an NFL rookie in 2009 is $310,000. While it might not be anywhere near the level of Stafford, it is not a bad starting salary.

    The Veterans

    • Once a player has a season under his belt, their minimum salary range goes up. After the first year, the minimum annual salary is $400,000. By year 10 it jumps up to $860,000. In 2008 the highest-paid player was Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. His annual salary is more than $27 million.

    Team Salaries

    • Proving that total payroll has nothing to do with wins, the NFL team that pays out the most in salary is the Oakland Raiders. The Raiders had a total payout in 2008 of more than $152 million; they got five total wins. Contrast that with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who won the Super Bowl. They were fifth in the league in total payroll with salaries totaling more than $128 million. The Detroit Lions paid $95 million and won zero games; they rank 26th in the NFL for payroll. These salary numbers include bonuses, which while paid out in one season, are pro-rated over the life of the players contract. This is why it appears that some teams have gone over the NFL Salary Cap.

    The NFL Salary Cap

    • In order to keep all teams competitive, at least in theory, the NFL has a league-wide salary cap. This cap prevents all teams from spending over a set amount. In this way large-market teams, like the New York teams, can't just spend their way to victory. Though, as the Raiders proved, salary levels do not always matter. In 2009 the salary cap is $127 million.

    NFL Player Facts

    • According to the NFL Players Association, the union that represents all NFL players, only 0.2 percent of all high school football players make it to the NFL. Additionally, of those that who it, the average playing career is just three and a half years. So while the salary range can get quite high, players usually make their money over a very short period of time.