The 15 highest-paid NFL players of 2015

A trip to the Super Bowl alone is no guarantee of a high salary. Because by no means all of the NFL stars who are currently allowed to make their way to the Super Bowl 50 earn double-digit million sums. Many NFL players are far less satisfied with and only the real superstars earn real top salaries in the NFL. So of course we asked ourselves which of them NFL Superstars earned the most in 2015 and Forbes gave us the answer

The following ranking is not based on the pure salaries of the players, but on the actual total income, including advertising income, which the 15 top earners among the NFL superstars were able to enjoy in 2015. The contract bonuses, which are usually granted immediately, are of course decisive. The top earner Ben Roethlisberger received 31 million dollars in contract signing bonuses alone.

We were especially amazed that many well-known NFL faces were on the list of highest paid player 2015 not show up at all. No Eric Decker, no Cam Newton, no Tom Brady. That is not to say, however, that the NFL stars not mentioned here have to gnaw on starvation. Because only those players made it into the Forbes list who took home at least 19 million US dollars in 2015. The man at the top of our list even had an annual income of almost 50 million US dollars, so that he would have earned a standing ovation for that alone.

The NFL teams seem to be doing very well financially, as they would otherwise not be able to reward their players with such insane sums for their efforts. Last year alone, the NFL’s TV revenues rose by around 39 million US dollars, which of course also benefited the individual teams. While the teams made an average profit of $ 33 million just 5 years ago, it was $ 76 million in 2015. The top 32 teams in the NFL are currently worth an impressive 63 billion US dollars.

The owners of the NFL teams in particular benefit from these extremely positive figures. Our also shows List of 15 Highest Paid Men in the 2015 NFL, that especially the successful quarterbacks 2015 were able to take home some really unearthly money.

These are the highest paid NFL stars in 2015

15th Aaron Rodgers: $ 19.1 million

Aaron Rodgers is the quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, who won the Super Bowl XLV with his team and was also crowned Super Bowl MVP in the same year. In 2005, A-Rod appeared as a rookie for the Packers for the first time.

14th Devin McCourty: $ 19.3 million

Devin McCourty was brought up to the New England Patriots in 2010 as a First Round Draft. In 2012 he moved from cornerback to safety and was able to take away a high bonus through a contract extension. For the Super-Bowl XLIX winner and two-time AFC champion, 2015 was his financially most successful career year to date.

13th Alex Smith: $ 19.6 million

Alex Smith is the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback who made his rookie debut with the San Francisco 49ers in 2005. Due to several injuries, however, he was replaced by Kaepernick in 2012, which Smith moved from San Francisco to the Chiefs in 2013.

12th Tyron Smith: $ 21.4 million

Tyron Smith is an offensive tackle and number 77 for the Dallas Cowboys, who chose this brilliant player in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He also benefited from a contract extension with the Cowboys. The 3-time pro bowler is still missing the big win.

10 Drew Brees: $ 22 million

Drew Brees is the star quarterback for the New Orleans Saints, who won Super Bowl XLIV in Miami against the Indianapolis Colts. In the same year (2010) Drew Brees was also named Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year. Brees did not provoke a contract extension, but still has an incredibly high salary until 2016.

10 Tony Romo: $ 22 million

As quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, Tony Romo is one of the stars of the Texan team, which is at least as well known internationally for its cheerleaders. Romo has been playing for the same team since 2003 and has had an impressive career that has not yet been crowned with a Super Bowl title.

9 LeSean McCoy: $ 22.1 million

LeSean McCoy earned his living as a running back at the Buffalo Bills in 2015. The number 25 of the Bills had played for the Philadelphia Eagles from 2009 to 2014. It was not until the move to the Buffalo Bills in 2015 that, despite his injuries and only 12 season games, he earned a considerable contract bonus in the double-digit million range.

8th Andy Dalton: $ 23.3 million

For the red-haired Andy Dalton, his orange player uniform seems to be made for the Cincinnati Bengals. The quarterback has been playing there since 2011 and has spent his entire NFL career in Cincinnati. The Pro Bowl in 2011 and 2014 were among Andy Dalton’s career highlights so far.

7th Eli Manning: $ 23.7 million

The first of the Manning brothers is in 7th place. While Eli appeared as a college player for the Ole Miss Rebels, he now plays in the NFL for the New York Giants. There the quarterback made his NFL debut in 2004 and won the Super Bowl twice. (XLII, XLVI)

6th Gerald McCoy: $ 26.7 million

Gerald McCoy plays for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The defensive tackle came to Tampa as a rookie in 2010 and was able to participate in the Pro Bowl for four years in a row from 2011, which speaks for his class as a player.

5 Peyton Manning: $ 27 million

In the Manning vs. Manning family duel, Peyton has the lead in terms of income. Peyton Manning has been the Denver Broncos quarterback since 2012, having previously played for the Indianapolis Colts from 1998 to 2011. With them, Archie Manning’s son was also able to win the Super Bowl XLI. Can he add more to Super Bowl 50?

4th JJ Watt: $ 27.9 million

JJ Watt holds the position of defensive end for the Houston Texans. He has been playing there since 2011, the year he was able to play in the NFL for the first time as a rookie. The 4-time pro bowler is still missing the big title.

3 Carson Palmer: $ 29 million

Carson Palmer is the Fresno, California-born quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, who have only been able to count on one of their best men since 2013. Carson Palmer joined the Bengals as a rookie in 2003, where he played until 2011. From 2011 to 2012, the star quarterback was then in action for the Oakland Raiders.

2 Ndamukong Suh: $ 38.6 million

The defensive tackle is number 93 with the Miami Dolphins, for whom he has only been playing for an insane salary since 2015. After his time in college, Ndamukong Suh went straight to the NFL. He played for the Detroit Lions from 2010 to 2014. A signature bonus of $ 25.5 million alone was paid out directly.

1 Ben Roethlisberger: $ 48.9

So this is him, the man at the top: Ben Roethlisberger is number 7 and the star quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He has played for the Steelers since his debut in 2004 and has so far led his team in two Super Bowl victories. The Steelers won both the Super Bowl XL and the Super Bowl XLIII. In addition, Big Ben was allowed to take part in the Pro Bowl four times, namely in 2007, 2011, 2014 and 2015. In 2004 he won the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year Award and was also named AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in the same year. The 3-time AFC champion from 2005, 2008 and 2010 has earned his insane salary with so many victories. The contract extension in 2015 alone granted him a signature bonus of an unbelievable $ 31 million.

Source: Forbes

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