Ja’Marr Chase extension: 10 highest-paid non-quarterbacks in NFL after Bengals star gets massive new deal

NFL: DEC 22 Browns at Bengals
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Wasn’t that long ago Maxx Crosby reset the market for players who aren’t quarterbacks. Since Crosby signed an extension earlier this month that put him at a $35.5 million average annual salary, two players have since surpassed that mark over the next two weeks.

Of course, both of those record-setting extensions fell on a Sunday. Myles Garrett previously owned that title as the Cleveland Browns gave him a $40 million extension with a historic $122.8 million guaranteed. Just a week later, Ja’Marr Chase reset the market as the Cincinnati Bengals gave him a four-year, $161 million deal that pays him an average of $40.25 million a season. 

With Chase joining Garrett in the $40 million non-quarterback club, Chase’s deal will certainly impact other non-quarterbacks whose agents are popping bottles while negotiating extensions for their superstar clients. Micah ParsonsAidan Hutchinson and Trey Hendrickson are awaiting new contracts and stand to benefit the most from Garrett and Chase’s new deals. 

This list will certainly change over the course of the offseason, but here are the 10 highest-paid non-quarterbacks in the NFL at this very moment.

Highest-paid non-quarterbacks in average annual salary

Player Team Position Average Annual Salary
Ja’Marr Chase Cincinnati Bengals WR $40,250,000
Myles Garrett Cleveland Browns DE $40,000,000  

Maxx Crosby

Las Vegas Raiders

DE

$35,500,000

Justin Jefferson

Minnesota Vikings

WR

$35,000,000

CeeDee Lamb

Dallas Cowboys

WR

$34,000,000

Nick Bosa

San Francisco 49ers

DE

$34,000,000

A.J. Brown

Philadelphia Eagles

WR

$32,000,000

Chris Jones Kansas City Chiefs DT $31,750,000

Amon-Ra St. Brown

Detroit Lions

WR

$30,002,500

DK Metcalf Pittsburgh Steelers WR $30,000,000

Tyreek Hill

Miami Dolphins

WR

$30,000,000

Brandon Aiyuk

San Francisco 49ers

WR

$30,000,000

Wide receivers still dominate the highest-paid non-quarterbacks list based on average per year salary, as eight of them are in the top-12 with Hill, Metcalf and Aiyuk tied for 10th. Pass rushers take up three positions on the list with Garrett, Crosby and Bosa as the three edge rushers who make $30+ million a year. Jones is the outlier as an interior defensive lineman, the only one to make $30+ million a year.

Now, let’s take a look at the highest-paid, non-QBs in terms of guaranteed salary, a list that many would argue is even more important than a contract’s average per year salary because APY can sometimes be artificially inflated by backloading a deal with money teams intended to never actually pay out. All the money below is cash each respective player will see.

Highest-paid non-quarterbacks in guaranteed salary

Player Team Position Guaranteed Salary
Myles Garrett Cleveland Browns DE $122,796,120
Nick Bosa San Francisco 49ers DE $122,500,000
Ja’Marr Chase Cincinnati Bengals WR $112,000,000
Justin Jefferson Minnesota Vikings WR $110,000,000
CeeDee Lamb Dallas Cowboys WR $100,000,000
Chris Jones Kansas City Chiefs DT $95,000,000

Maxx Crosby

Las Vegas Raiders

DE

$91,500,000

Tristan Wirfs Tampa Bay Buccaneers OT $88,240,000
Joshua Hines-Allen Jacksonville Jaguars DE $88,000,000
Brian Burns New York Giants DE $87,500,000

Chase became the highest-paid wide receiver in NFL history in guaranteed money, getting $112 million from the Bengals in his massive extension. He broke Jefferson’s mark set last offseason, but remains in third among non-quarterbacks behind Garrett and Bosa. 

Players who line up in the trenches along the line of scrimmage dominate the guaranteed money top 10 list for non-QBs. Six pass rushers, five of whom are edge rushers (Garrett, Bosa, Crosby, Hines-Allen and Burns) and one interior defensive lineman (Jones), lead the way.

These two charts hammer home why Garrett’s deal set sthe barometer for Watt, Parsons, Hendrickson, and other pass rushers seeking extensions. All these contracts were signed over the last two years, with Bosa setting the standard with his five-year, $170 million extension with $122.5 million guaranteed in 2023. These numbers will certainly go up with the rising salary cap and the ballooning wide receiver market.

Garrett’s extension is the dynamite that ushers in a wave of record-setting spending this offseason, with Chase surpassing his average annual salary just a week later. 

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