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Yahoo Finance Plus The 33 Highest-Paid NFL Quarterbacks
NFL football is finally here and every starting quarterback heads into the season with one thing in common — if they’re not the highest-paid player on the team, they’re close to it. In charge of coordinating the offense, the quarterback handles the ball during every single play. No individual has a greater influence on the outcome of a game, which is why the man under center usually gets a paycheck that’s the envy of the team.
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But the NFL is not immune to income disparity, and some quarterback paychecks are more enviable than others.
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In order to determine the highest-paid quarterbacks, GOBankingRates used Spotrac's NFL salary data to rank every single play-caller by his cap hit for the 2021 season and ranked them in order of lowest to highest. You’ll also learn about their base salaries, signing bonuses, roster bonuses and miscellaneous pay. You'll notice there are 33 quarterbacks for just 32 NFL teams -- there was a tie at the very top of the list, and some backups made the cut, while some starters did not. Here are the highest-paid quarterbacks this year.
Last updated: Sept. 8, 2021
32. Andy Dalton
Team: Chicago Bears
2021 cap hit: $5,000,000
2021 base salary: $2,500,000
2021 signing bonus: $2,500,000
2021 roster bonus: N/A
2021 miscellaneous pay: N/A
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32. Jacoby Brissett
Team: Miami Dolphins
2021 cap hit: $5,000,000
2021 base salary: $2,500,000
2021 signing bonus: $2,500,000
2021 roster bonus: N/A
2021 miscellaneous pay: N/A
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31. Tyrod Taylor
Team: Houston Texans
2021 cap hit: $5,323,529
2021 base salary: $2,500,000
2021 signing bonus: $2,500,000
2021 roster bonus: $323,529
2021 miscellaneous pay: N/A
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30. Cam Newton
Team: New England Patriots*
2021 cap hit: $5,423,529
2021 base salary: $1,500,000
2021 signing bonus: $2,000,000
2021 roster bonus: $1,323,529
2021 miscellaneous pay: $600,000
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*Editor's note: Newton was recently cut by the Patriots and has not yet been signed by another team.
29. Justin Herbert
Team: Los Angeles Chargers
2021 cap hit: $6,040,626
2021 base salary: $1,818,125
2021 signing bonus: $4,222,501
2021 roster bonus: N/A
2021 miscellaneous pay: N/A
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28. Trey Lance
Team: San Francisco 49ers
2021 cap hit: $6,200,959
2021 base salary: $660,000
2021 signing bonus: $5,540,959
2021 roster bonus: N/A
2021 miscellaneous pay: N/A
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27. Zach Wilson
Team: New York Jets
2021 cap hit: $6,391,033
2021 base salary: $660,000
2021 signing bonus: $5,731,033
2021 roster bonus: N/A
2021 miscellaneous pay: N/A
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26. Nick Foles
Team: Chicago Bears
2021 cap hit: $6,666,666
2021 base salary: $4,000,000
2021 signing bonus: $2,666,666
2021 roster bonus: N/A
2021 miscellaneous pay: N/A
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25. Trevor Lawrence
Team: Jacksonville Jaguars
2021 cap hit: $6,689,725
2021 base salary: $660,000
2021 signing bonus: $6,029,725
2021 roster bonus: N/A
2021 miscellaneous pay: N/A
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24. Tua Tagovailoa
Team: Miami Dolphins
2021 cap hit: $6,880,781
2021 base salary: $780,000
2021 signing bonus: $4,894,625
2021 roster bonus: $1,206,156
2021 miscellaneous pay: N/A
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23. Daniel Jones
Team: New York Giants
2021 cap hit: $7,174,288
2021 base salary: $850,000
2021 signing bonus: $4,171,192
2021 roster bonus: $2,153,096
2021 miscellaneous pay: N/A
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22. Taysom Hill
Team: New Orleans Saints
2021 cap hit: $7,259,000
2021 base salary: $1,034,000
2021 signing bonus: $6,225,000
2021 roster bonus: N/A
2021 miscellaneous pay: N/A
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21. Case Keenum
Team: Cleveland Browns
2021 cap hit: $7,333,333
2021 base salary: $6,000,000
2021 signing bonus: $1,333,333
2021 roster bonus: N/A
2021 miscellaneous pay: N/A
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20. Patrick Mahomes
Team: Kansas City Chiefs
2021 cap hit: $7,433,381
2021 base salary: $990,000
2021 signing bonus: $2,000,000
2021 roster bonus: N/A
2021 miscellaneous pay: $4,443,381
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19. Joe Burrow
Team: Cincinnati Bengals
2021 cap hit: $8,225,031
2021 base salary: $2,255,006
2021 signing bonus: $5,970,025
2021 roster bonus: N/A
2021 miscellaneous pay: N/A
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18. Kyler Murray
Team: Arizona Cardinals
2021 cap hit: $9,763,721
2021 base salary: $850,000
2021 signing bonus: $5,897,481
2021 roster bonus: $3,016,240
2021 miscellaneous pay: N/A
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17. Josh Allen
Team: Buffalo Bills
2021 cap hit: $10,210,057
2021 base salary: $920,000
2021 signing bonus: $6,671,461
2021 roster bonus: $2,618,596
2021 miscellaneous pay: N/A
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16. Ryan Fitzpatrick
Team: Washington Football Team
2021 cap hit: $10,537,000
2021 base salary: $3,000,000
2021 signing bonus: $6,000,000
2021 roster bonus: $937,000
2021 miscellaneous pay: $600,000
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15. Tom Brady
Team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2021 cap hit: $10,545,588
2021 base salary: $1,075,000
2021 signing bonus: $8,000,000
2021 roster bonus: $1,470,588
2021 miscellaneous pay: N/A
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14. Baker Mayfield
Team: Cleveland Browns
2021 cap hit: $10,568,130
2021 base salary: $920,000
2021 signing bonus: $5,462,360
2021 roster bonus: $4,186,770
2021 miscellaneous pay: N/A
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13. Jared Goff
Team: Detroit Lions
2021 cap hit: $10,650,000
2021 base salary: $5,650,000
2021 signing bonus: N/A
2021 roster bonus: N/A
2021 miscellaneous pay: $5,000,000
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12. Ryan Tannehill
Team: Tennessee Titans
2021 cap hit: $11,100,000
2021 base salary: $1,500,000
2021 signing bonus: $5,000,000
2021 roster bonus: N/A
2021 miscellaneous pay: $4,600,000
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11. Deshaun Watson
Team: Houston Texans
2021 cap hit: $15,940,000
2021 base salary: $10,540,000
2021 signing bonus: $5,400,000
2021 roster bonus: N/A
2021 miscellaneous pay: N/A
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10. Matthew Stafford
Team: Los Angeles Rams
2021 cap hit: $20,000,000
2021 base salary: $9,500,000
2021 signing bonus: N/A
2021 roster bonus: $10,000,000
2021 miscellaneous pay: $500,000
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9. Carson Wentz
Team: Indianapolis Colts
2021 cap hit: $21,305,882
2021 base salary: $15,400,000
2021 signing bonus: N/A
2021 roster bonus: $5,905,882
2021 miscellaneous pay: N/A
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8. Derek Carr
Team: Las Vegas Raiders
2021 cap hit: $22,125,000
2021 base salary: $19,525,000
2021 signing bonus: $2,500,000
2021 roster bonus: N/A
2021 miscellaneous pay: $100,000
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7. Dak Prescott
Team: Dallas Cowboys
2021 cap hit: $22,200,000
2021 base salary: $9,000,000
2021 signing bonus: $13,200,000
2021 roster bonus: N/A
2021 miscellaneous pay: N/A
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6. Ben Roethlisberger
Team: Pittsburgh Steelers
2021 cap hit: $25,910,000
2021 base salary: $1,075,000
2021 signing bonus: $15,085,000
2021 roster bonus: N/A
2021 miscellaneous pay: $9,750,000
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5. Jimmy Garoppolo
Team: San Francisco 49ers
2021 cap hit: $26,382,352
2021 base salary: $24,100,000
2021 signing bonus: $1,400,000
2021 roster bonus: $282,353
2021 miscellaneous pay: $600,000
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4. Matt Ryan
Team: Atlanta Falcons
2021 cap hit: $26,912,500
2021 base salary: $2,000,000
2021 signing bonus: $9,300,000
2021 roster bonus: N/A
2021 miscellaneous pay: $15,612,500
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3. Aaron Rodgers
Team: Green Bay Packers
2021 cap hit: $27,073,568
2021 base salary: $1,100,000
2021 signing bonus: $16,321,568
2021 roster bonus: $6,800,000
2021 miscellaneous pay: $2,852,000
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2. Kirk Cousins
Team: Minnesota Vikings
2021 cap hit: $31,000,000
2021 base salary: $21,000,000
2021 signing bonus: $10,000,000
2021 roster bonus: N/A
2021 miscellaneous pay: N/A
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1. Russell Wilson
Team: Seattle Seahawks
2021 cap hit: $32,000,000
2021 base salary: $19,000,000
2021 signing bonus: $13,000,000
2021 roster bonus: N/A
2021 miscellaneous pay: N/A
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Methodology: In order to determine the highest-paid NFL quarterbacks, GOBankingRates used Spotrac's NFL salary rankings for the quarterback position in terms of the highest cap hit for the 2021 season and ranked them from lowest to highest total cap hit. GOBankingRates also found (where applicable) each player’s 2021 base salary, 2021 signing bonuses, 2021 roster bonuses, and 2021 miscellaneous pay including restructuring, contract incentives, and workout bonuses. 32 was determined as that is the total amount of NFL teams. All data were collected and are up to date as of Aug. 30, 2021.
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: The 33 Highest-Paid NFL Quarterbacks
