Eli Manning, Quarterback – ~$150 Million

The Manning brothers have made quite a name in the football industry, and Eli Manning is no exception. He completed his 16-year career in the NFL in 2020, which had him play in two Super Bowls. Manning played college football from 2000 to 2003 and was drafted as the first overall by the San Diego Chargers in 2004. 

Just like his elder brother, Peyton Manning, Eli left no chance to get hold of popular endorsements, which earned him a fortune. In addition to that, he has been hosting the oldest and largest charity golf event in New York since 2008. 

Brett Favre, QuarterBack – ~$100 Million

This professional American footballer has been a part of various teams like Atlanta Falcons, New York Jets, Green Bay Packers, and Minnesota Vikings. Favre started playing football in college for the team Southern Miss Golden Eagles. He played for four consecutive years while setting many records.

He started his pro career with Atlanta Falcons, but most of his career was spent playing for Green Bay Packers (15 years). This quarterback player from America is the only proud owner of 3 consecutive Associated Press Most Valuable Player Award. On top of all, he also has the record of most pass attempts and most passed interceptions under his belt.

Aaron Rodgers, QuarterBack – ~$120 Million

After almost quitting the desire to be a football player, Aaron Rodgers went on to become one of the prime players of the sport. He began playing football at the Butte Community College. He excelled at the sport and set numerous career passing records. After this, he was drafted for NFL in 2005 by the Green Bay Packers.

Since then, he has been performing remarkably well and has also led his team to victory in Super Bowl XLV against the Pittsburgh Steelers. His team’s win earned him the Super Bowl MVP Award in 2010. Moreover, he has also been named as the Associated Press Athlete of the Year 2011.

Michael Strahan, Defensive End – ~$65 Million

Michael Strahan has ruled on both sides of the game. On-field, he played for the New York Giants from 1993 to 2007. And off the ground, he observes the games as a Football Analyst for Fox NFL Sunday. The bouquet of his recognitions includes Super Bowl XLII Champion and NFL Defensive Player of the year in 2001.

His campaign with the New York Giants started with the 1993 NFL Draft. All throughout his career, he has been named to the Pro Bowl 7 times. Michael has a complete run with the NFL and, in the end, was inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014.

Fran Tarkenton, QuarterBack – ~$100 Million

Apart from being a professional football player, Fran Tarkenton has done many things in his life so far. As per football, he has played 18 seasons of NFL in which he bagged a number of records. Among many of his milestones and records, he has won the Pro Bowl award most of the time(9) between 1964 and 1976. He has played for Minnesota Vikings for most of his career.

As referred above, other than Football, Fran is the founder of a computer-program generator company. He has served as a commentator on Monday Night Football. Moreover, he has written motivational books like Playing To Win, How to Motivate People, etc.

Carson Palmer, QuarterBack – ~$100 Million

Carson started his pro career with Cincinnati Bengals and played for them till 2010. After being named for two Pro Bowls until the first 15 years of his career. However, after some time, he had to face some years of sluggish performance. At this time, Carson shifted to Oakland Raiders but only stayed with them for two seasons. 

Come 2013, Palmer joined the Arizona Cardinals, and under this team, he had his most memorable in 2015. He also played a role in helping the Cardinals to advance to the championship game of NFC, which led to his third Pro Bowl. Parmer left the ground for good in 2017.

Cam Newton – Quarterback, ~$45 Million

In the year 2011, Cam Newton was drafted by the Carolina Panthers as a quarterback a year later after his transfer to Blinn College. He is also a free agent and a former pick straight out of Auburn. He has led his team to the Super Bowl with his striking performance and even won the MVP award!

He has been endorsing Danon, Beats, and Gatorade. Not only that, but this footballer also promotes the Carolinas Healthcare System. With a net worth of $45 million, Newton produced and hosted “All In With Cam Newton” which featured him helping various kids make their dream come true.

 Steve Young, QuarterBack – ~$200 Million

Well, Steve Young is more than just being a successful football player. He has received a Juris Doctor degree and is also the M.D of Huntsman Gay Global Capital. Young began his career by playing with Los Angeles Express in 1984 though most of his career went on while playing for San Francisco 49ers (13 Seasons).

Throughout his football career, he has bagged numerous awards and milestones. Some of his best ones are 3 Super Bowl Champion Award, 1 Super Bowl MVP, 7 Pro Bowl Awards, and more. Young has also delivered some guest appearances in various TV series episodes.

John Elway, QuarterBack – ~$145 Million

Currently being the general manager and executive vice president of Denver Broncos, John Elway was a marvelous player back in his time. Though the beginning of his pro career didn’t go that well, once he got into Denver Broncos, he had no time to look back. He played for Denver Broncos for his entire 16-year career.

His success took him so far that the local newspaper ran a section with his name The Elway Watch. Other than this, he is also the proud owner of 9 Pro Bowl Awards and 2 Super Bowl Champion Awards. Elway retired in early 1999.

Mark Sanchez – QuarterBack – ~$40 Million

Mark Sanchez is a former quarterback player who saw a few dark days before rising to success. After being a backup quarterback for three years at the University of California, he came to light after one of his teammates got injured. The Mexican-American heritage made him very popular among the audience.

He has been a part of the overall six teams in his entire career, most of which he gave to the New York Jets. Sanchez has some pretty awesome records under his belt. Some of them are Pepsi NFL Rookie Of The Week, Sporting News All-Rookie Team, and Rose bowl Champion (3 years).

Larry Fitzgerald – ~$97 Million

Larry Fitzgerald is one of the brilliant Wide receivers of the world and hasn’t played for any other team than Arizona Cardinals in his professional career. He started playing football in college and was recognized as one of the best wide receivers for 2002 and 2003. 
After some tough time dealing with petitions to get into the NFL, he finally got drafted for the 2004 NFL draft. Post this, he never looked back and went on winning various awards and honors with his remarkable performance. He was selected for Pro Bowl 11 times and two times for Second-Team All-Pro. Fitzgerald still plays for Arizona Cardinals.

 Julius Peppers, Defensive End – ~$60 Million

It is very interesting to know that Julius Peppers was also a basketball player while he played football in his college. He played for North Carolina Tar Heels football team for four years till 2001. During this period, he earned a lot of awards and honors. He was drafted for the NFL in 2002 by the Carolina Panthers. 

Though he devoted most of his career to the Carolina Panthers, he also played for Chicago Bears (2010–2013) and Green Bay Packers (2014–2016). He was named as NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2002 and was also named to Pro Bowl 9 times. 

Peyton Manning, QuarterBack – ~$200 Million

Peyton Manning is one of the most famous names in the history of the NFL. He is known for his prolific passing in the game that has earned him five NFL MVP Awards and two Super Bowl trophies for his team. Peyton had the genes of football in him from childhood, being the son of former player Archie Manning. 

Peyton played his first game under the hood of the Indianapolis Colts in 1998 and stayed with them for 14 seasons. After a severe neck injury, he took a hiatus for some time and returned to play four more seasons with Denver Broncos before announcing his retirement in 2016.

Ben Roethlisberger, QuarterBack – ~$232.3 Million

Also named Big Ben, this big guy was drafted in 2014 by the Pittsburgh Steelers and continues to play with them even today. Next up, he has cherished some great moments that helped him bag Rookie of the Year Award in 2004. Come 2007, he was also selected for his first pro bowl. 

Following this, Ben has performed amazingly to help the Pittsburgh Steelers steal various victories. The most notable of them were the ones with Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals.  With a Passer Rating of 94.0 and 6th rank in all-time NFL career passing yards, he is one of the greatest passers in the NFL. 

Sam Bradford, QuarterBack – ~$70 Million

Sam Bradford has played for four different jerseys in his career. During his college days, Sam was the only second sophomore to get a Heisman Trophy. Following this, he was selected to play for St. Louis Rams in 2010 & this marked his initiation as a professional player. He was also awarded the Offensive Rookie of the year, creating NFL history.

Next up, he became a part of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2015, and this was another great year for him. But his association didn’t last long. Come 2016, he played for Minnesota Vikings, and lastly, he also played for Arizona Cardinals until 2018, after which he formally retired.

Tony Romo, QuarterBack – ~$70 Million

The 40-year-old former NFL Quarterback, Tony Romo’s love for football, evolved at a very young age in southern Wisconsin. He idolized Brett Favre, whose aggressive style inspired him to make a career in the NFL. The football star started his career with Dallas Cowboys and stayed loyal to them until he retired in 2017. 

Tony had a great ability to change the gameplay by imposing new techniques like throwing the ball downfield quickly and scoring a point that made him people’s favorite. Soon after his retirement, he became a commentator for NFL television broadcasts on CBS and showed his new range of talent to the world.   

Terrell Suggs, Defensive End – ~$63 Million

Terrell Suggs, who made it into the All-American unanimously and was named seven times to the Pro Bowl, is a Free Agent at present. Terrell has had an amazing run with the Baltimore Ravens for about 15 years. In the 2011 game with the Steelers, Terrell had defended the line heroically, where he made a record three sacks and double forced fumbles. 

Similar performances throughout the year led him to bag the Defensive Player of the year award. When he ended his campaign with Kansas City Chiefs in 2019, Terrell bagged the 8th spot for Career Sacks in the history of the NFL. He is also called T-Sizzle. 

Matt Ryan, QuarterBack – ~$70 Million

After getting drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in 2008, Matt started each and every one of the 16 games. Also, he played a key role in pushing the team to enter playoffs and, too, with a season record of 11 – 5. His performance in all the games helped him bag Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. 

And he is only a few of the wealthiest NFL players who are still living their glory days like Ben Roethlisberger. Just until a couple of years back, Matt Ryan was one of the highest-paid NFL players at $30 Million per year.  

Ndamukong Suh, Defensive End – ~$50 Million

One of the odd ones in this list is Ndamukong Suh, who played for three different teams before Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He actually started playing football in his college (2005) for Nebraska Cornhuskers that made him a potential player for NFL. He even won various titles like  Associated Press College Football Player of the Year, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, etc.

Detroit Lions is the team for which Suh has played the most till now (5 years). He is recognized for the best defensive tackles in the NFL. Moreover, he was also ranked as the 6th highest defensive player. Currently, he is in a contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for one year.

Matthew Stafford, QuarterBack – ~$60 Million

In 2017, Stafford made NFL history by signing the biggest contract worth a whopping $135 Million. In the 2009 Draft, he was the first one to be picked by the Detroit Lions and is still active on their roster. Off the ground, he also has several endorsement contracts with the likes of PepsiCo, Fanatics, & others. 

On the ground, Matthew has had some great moments. He is one of the 4 QBs in the history of the NFL to throw more than 5000 yards in one season. Stafford is so fast that he can also overtake his own shadow, and today he holds the record for the fastest player in the NFL.

Jerry Rice, Wide Receiver – ~$55 Million

There is not even a single doubt that Jerry Rice is one of the greatest players in the history of the NFL. Seeing his stupendous performances all throughout the years, Rice came only second in the list of the 100 greatest players of Football by The Sporting News. As a wide receiver, Jerry has held many records in his run with the San Francisco 49ers. 

Interestingly, 49ers coach in 1985 (Bill Walsh) had just seen the highlights one night before the Draft, and Jerry caught his eye. Once he came onto the field and until he left, Jerry had been named to the Pro Bowl 13 times, 12 times to All-Pro. 

Alex Smith, Quarterback – ~$55 Million

The ever-so-handsome Alex Smith started his career in football when he joined the University of Utah. Smith started with the 2005 draft of NFL by San Francisco, which gained him huge popularity. Not only that, but he also started every game of the season in 2011. 

Alex signed for a four-year contract in 2018 with the Washington Redskins and is currently playing for them. His name has been associated with brands like Nike and Advocare and makes around one million in a year with just the endorsements. Even after bagging an astonishing net worth of $55 Million, Smith is known for his humility and groundedness. 

Calvin Johnson, Wide Receiver – ~$45 Million

It is not very common for a Wide Receiver to end up on the list of Wealthiest NFL players. However, Calvin Johnson has made it because he is regarded as one of the best wide receivers. It is like he is born to play from here. With a height of 6 ft 5,” coupled with a skillset ideal for a wide receiver, he was nicknamed as Megatron on the ground.

The year 2012 was great for Johnson. He made a couple of exclusive entries into the record books. This includes the longest receiving yards (1964) and consecutive 100-yard games in the NFL. The latter record was also achieved by Adam Thielen. 

Russell Wilson, Quarterback – ~$115 Million

The Seattle Seahawk quarterback, Russell Wilson rose to fame in 2011 while playing college football for the University of Wisconsin. He led his team to a Big Ten title and set the FBS record for passing efficiency. In the 2012 draft, Wilson was selected and made a significant mark in his debut season after beating Matt Flynn during the training camp. 

He has been to Pro Bowls and started in two Super Bowls, where he ended up winning the Super Bowl XLVIII. He signed a contract with the Seahawks in 2019 for four years. Apart from that, Wison keeps himself busy by visiting the Seattle Children’s Hospital regularly.

Jim Brown – Running Back, ~$50 Million

The 84-year-old Jim Brown is a former NFL player and American actor who has made its name in both sports and cinema. Jim debuted with the Cleveland Browns NFL team in 1957 and became famous for his strong and explosive play with excellent running skills.

In a brief NFL career of 7 years, Brown never failed to lead his teams through the yards and even won them the 1964 NFL Championship. Soon before the ’66 season, he announced his retirement and started his new innings in the movie industry. Brown made a debut in the cinema with Rio Conchos and has appeared in more than 30 films.    

Kurt Warner – Quarterback, ~$30 Million

Born in Burlington, Iowa, Kurt Warner loved playing football as a kid. He graduated in 1987 and went to the University of Northern. He earned a degree in communications and thus got an opportunity to show his mettle in football. 

He knew from the beginning that his journey would be very demanding, and he will have to make himself stand out. However, Warner ultimately reached his goal and played as a quarterback for three NFL teams. All of this helped him earn a total net worth of $30 million. When he plays in the field, he is nothing less than a spectacle.