The 15 NFL Players Who Make the Most Money From Endorsements
It pays to be an NFL quarterback. And companies that quarterbacks sell, too.
Signal callers dominate the list of 15 NFL players who made the most money from endorsements in 2020, GOBankingRates has found. Eleven of the 15 are quarterbacks, with two running backs and two receivers rounding out the list. It doesn’t pay to play defense, apparently.
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The average in endorsements for 2020 is impressive, at $4.7 million per year. However, that’s only a small part of the average total of earnings of $34.95 million for these players. It’s important to note that the endorsement and salary information for this list came from Forbes’ 2020 list of the world’s highest-paid athletes, which used earnings information from June 1, 2019, and June 1, 2020.
The top three players on the list are no surprise, as they’re among the biggest names in sports. However, the distance between the top three and the rest of the list is unexpected. Read on to see the list.
Last updated: April 9, 2021
15. Ben Roethlisberger
Team: Pittsburgh Steelers
Position: QB
Overall Forbes Highest-Paid Athlete Rank: 91
2020 Endorsement Money: $1 million
Total 2020 Earnings: $23 million
2020 Salary/Winnings: $22 million
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14. Amari Cooper
Team: Dallas Cowboys
Position: WR
Overall Forbes Highest-Paid Athlete Rank: 75
2020 Endorsement Money: $1 million
Total 2020 Earnings: $24.9 million
2020 Salary/Winnings: $23.9 million
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13. Derek Carr
Team: Las Vegas Raiders
Position: QB
Overall Forbes Highest-Paid Athlete Rank: 99
2020 Endorsement Money: $2 million
Total 2020 Earnings: $22 million
2020 Salary/Winnings: $20 million
Read More: Here’s the Highest-Paid NFL Player in Every Position
12. Ezekiel Elliott
Team: Dallas Cowboys
Position: RB
Overall Forbes Highest-Paid Athlete Rank: 89
2020 Endorsement Money: $2 million
Total 2020 Earnings: $23.3 million
2020 Salary/Winnings: $21.3 million
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11. Jared Goff
Team: Los Angeles Rams
Position: QB
Overall Forbes Highest-Paid Athlete Rank: 15
2020 Endorsement Money: $2 million
Total 2020 Earnings: $49 million
2020 Salary/Winnings: $47 million
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10. Kirk Cousins
Team: Minnesota Vikings
Position: QB
Overall Forbes Highest-Paid Athlete Rank: 9
2020 Endorsement Money: $2.5 million
Total 2020 Earnings: $60.5 million
2020 Salary/Winnings: $58 million
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9. Marcus Mariota
Team: Las Vegas Raiders
Position: QB
Overall Forbes Highest-Paid Athlete Rank: 83
2020 Endorsement Money: $3 million
Total 2020 Earnings: $23.9 million
2020 Salary/Winnings: $20.9 million
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8. Christian McCaffrey
Team: Carolina Panthers
Position: RB
Overall Forbes Highest-Paid Athlete Rank: 63
2020 Endorsement Money: $3 million
Total 2020 Earnings: $26.5 million
2020 Salary/Winnings: $23.5 million
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7. Julio Jones
Team: Atlanta Falcons
Position: WR
Overall Forbes Highest-Paid Athlete Rank: 26
2020 Endorsement Money: $3 million
Total 2020 Earnings: $40.5 million
2020 Salary/Winnings: $37.5 million
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6. Carson Wentz
Team: Philadelphia Eagles
Position: QB
Overall Forbes Highest-Paid Athlete Rank: 10
2020 Endorsement Money: $4 million
Total 2020 Earnings: $59.1 million
2020 Salary/Winnings: $55.1 million
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5. Cam Newton
Team: New England Patriots
Position: QB
Overall Forbes Highest-Paid Athlete Rank: 97
2020 Endorsement Money: $5.5 million
Total 2020 Earnings: $22.2 million
2020 Salary/Winnings: $16.7 million
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4. Matt Ryan
Team: Atlanta Falcons
Position: QB
Overall Forbes Highest-Paid Athlete Rank: 47
2020 Endorsement Money: $5.5 million
Total 2020 Earnings: $29.5 million
2020 Salary/Winnings: $24 million
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3. Aaron Rodgers
Team: Green Bay Packers
Position: QB
Overall Forbes Highest-Paid Athlete Rank: 45
2020 Endorsement Money: $9 million
Total 2020 Earnings: $30.1 million
2020 Salary/Winnings: $21.1 million
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2. Tom Brady
Team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Position: QB
Overall Forbes Highest-Paid Athlete Rank: 21
2020 Endorsement Money: $12 million
Total 2020 Earnings: $45 million
2020 Salary/Winnings: $33 million
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1. Drew Brees
Team Played For: New Orleans Saints
Position: QB
Overall Forbes Highest-Paid Athlete Rank: 22
2020 Endorsement Money: $15 million
Total 2020 Earnings: $44.8 million
2020 Salary/Winnings: $29.8 million
More From GOBankingRates
Methodology: In order to discover the 15 NFL players who make the most money from endorsements, GOBankingRates looked at Forbes’ “Highest Paid Athletes of 2020” data and isolated all NFL players included. With these 31 NFL players isolated, GOBankingRates found the following data or each: (1) 2020 money earned from endorsements; (2) total overall money earned in 2020; and (3) 2020 money earned from salary/winnings. All players with above $1 million earned in endorsements were included in the final list. GOBankingRates also used Pro-Football Reference to find supplemental data on each player such as (4) team played for and (5) position. All data was collected on and up to date as of Dec. 15, 2020.
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: The 15 NFL Players Who Make the Most Money From Endorsements
