The Highest-Paid Player on Every NFL Team

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones net worth

The highest-paid player on an NFL team is a target as much as anything else. More so than other leagues, the NFL has especially interchangeable contracts that allow teams to drop players as soon as they start to underperform. Whereas MLB players like Albert Pujols or Miguel Cabrera can look forward to years of being paid like they’re in their prime, NFL stars can’t have the same expectations.

See: The Highest-Paid NFL Player in Every Position

What’s more, with a hard cap on total team salaries, the incentive to shed expensive talent is even higher. Every penny of a player’s “cap hit” counts against that total. Overpaid players don’t just cost teams more money; they prevent them from acquiring other, better players as well.

As such, the highest-paid player on each NFL team is — more often than not — clearly among their most valuable. But with a massive loss in revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic, jettisoning high-priced players could be an even higher priority for some teams.

GOBankingRates ranked the highest-paid player on each NFL team according to their salary cap hit for the 2020 season. Take a closer look at who earns the most on your favorite NFL squad.

Last updated: Dec. 9, 2020

Buffalo Bills

Player: Mitch Morse
Position: Center
2020 cap hit (current season): $11,625,000
2020 base salary (current season): $6,775,000

Mandatory Credit: Photo by AP/Shutterstock (9630167n)Byron Jones of the Dallas Cowboys NFL football team.

Miami Dolphins

Player: Byron Jones
Position: Cornerback
2020 cap hit (current season): $14,000,000
2020 base salary (current season): $11,000,000

Cleveland Browns

Player: Olivier Vernon
Position: Defensive end
2020 cap hit (current season): $15,500,000
2020 base salary (current season): $15,250,000

Find Out: Which NFL Teams Spent the Most in Free Agency?

Houston Texans

Player: J.J. Watt
Position: Defensive end
2020 cap hit (current season): $15,500,000
2020 base salary (current season): $15,500,000

Baltimore Ravens

Player: Matt Judon
Position: Outside linebacker
2020 cap hit (current season): $15,828,000
2020 base salary (current season): $15,828,000

Los Angeles Chargers

Player: Melvin Ingram
Position: Defensive end
2020 cap hit (current season): $16,625,000
2020 base salary (current season): $14,000,000

New York Jets

Player: C.J. Mosley
Position: Inside linebacker
2020 cap hit (current season): $17,500,000
2020 base salary (current season): $6,000,000

Jacksonville Jaguars

Player: Yannick Ngakoue
Position: Defensive end
2020 cap hit (current season): $17,788,000
2020 base salary (current season): $17,788,000

Cincinnati Bengals

Player: A.J. Green
Position: Wide receiver
2020 cap hit (current season): $17,865,000
2020 base salary (current season): $17,865,000

New England Patriots

Player: Stephon Gilmore
Position: Cornerback
2020 cap hit (current season): $18,670,833
2020 base salary (current season): $10,500,000

Kansas City Chiefs

Player: Frank Clark
Position: Defensive end
2020 cap hit (current season): $19,300,000
2020 base salary (current season): $12,000,000

Carolina Panthers

Player: Kawann Short
Position: Defensive end
2020 cap hit (current season): $19,464,000
2020 base salary (current season): $12,500,000

New York Giants

Player: Nate Solder
Position: Left tackle
2020 cap hit (current season): $19,500,000
2020 base salary (current season): $9,900,000

Look: These Are the Most Incredible Active Sellout Streaks in Sports

Atlanta Falcons

Player: Julio Jones
Position: Wide receiver
2020 cap hit (current season): $20,416,668
2020 base salary (current season): $11,200,000

Minnesota Vikings

Player: Kirk Cousins
Position: Quarterback
2020 cap hit (current season): $21,000,000
2020 base salary (current season): $9,500,000

Detroit Lions

Player: Matthew Stafford
Position: Quarterback
2020 cap hit (current season): $21,300,000
2020 base salary (current season): $7,800,000

Arizona Cardinals

Player: Chandler Jones
Position: Outside linebacker
2020 cap hit (current season): $21,333,333
2020 base salary (current season): $16,000,000

Washington Redskins

Player: Alex Smith
Position: Quarterback
2020 cap hit (current season): $21,400,000
2020 base salary (current season): $16,000,000

Las Vegas Raiders

Player: Derek Carr
Position: Quarterback
2020 cap hit (current season): $21,500,000
2020 base salary (current season): $18,900,000

Making an Impact: Sports Stars Spending Big and Speaking Out on Black Lives Matter

Green Bay Packers

Player: Aaron Rodgers
Position: Quarterback
2020 cap hit (current season): $21,642,000
2020 base salary (current season): $1,550,000

Tennessee Titans

Player: Ryan Tannehill
Position: Quarterback
2020 cap hit (current season): $22,500,000
2020 base salary (current season): $17,500,000

New Orleans Saints

Player: Drew Brees
Position: Quarterback
2020 cap hit (current season): $23,650,000
2020 base salary (current season): $2,000,000

Pittsburgh Steelers

Player: Ben Roethlisberger
Position: Quarterback
2020 cap hit (current season): $23,750,000
2020 base salary (current season): $1,500,000

Philadelphia Eagles

Player: Fletcher Cox
Position: Defensive tackle
2020 cap hit (current season): $23,847,000
2020 base salary (current season): $11,200,000

Read: NFL Players Whose Paychecks Aren’t as Big as You Think

Indianpolis Colts

Player: Philip Rivers
Position: Quarterback
2020 cap hit (current season): $25,000,000
2020 base salary (current season): $13,000,000

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - FEBRUARY 3, 2019: Tom Brady and the New England Patriots face the Los Angelas Rams in Super Bowl 53 at Mercedes- Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia on February 3, 2019.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Player: Tom Brady
Position: Quarterback
2020 cap hit (current season): $25,000,000
2020 base salary (current season): $15,000,000

Denver Broncos

Player: Von Miller
Position: Outside linebacker
2020 cap hit (current season): $25,625,000
2020 base salary (current season): $17,500,000

Chicago Bears

Player: Khalil Mack
Position: Outside linebacker
2020 cap hit (current season): $26,600,000
2020 base salary (current season): $13,300,000

San Francisco 49ers

Player: Jimmy Garoppolo
Position: Quarterback
2020 cap hit (current season): $26,600,000
2020 base salary (current season): $23,800,000

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Jeff Haynes/AP/Shutterstock (9269123bj)California's Jared Goff poses for photos after being selected by the Los Angeles Rams as the first pick in the first round of the 2016 NFL football draft, in Chicago2016 NFL Draft, Chicago, USA - 28 Apr 2016.

Los Angeles Rams

Player: Jared Goff
Position: Quarterback
2020 cap hit (current season): $29,002,682
2020 base salary (current season): $1,242,682

Check Out: 13 NFL Players Who Lost Millions

November 25, 2018 - Russell WILSON (3) plays against the Carolina Panthers at Bank Of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC.

Seattle Seahawks

Player: Russell Wilson
Position: Quarterback
2020 cap hit (current season): $31,000,000
2020 base salary (current season): $18,000,000

Dak Prescott - attends the Maxim Big Game Experience at the Fairmont Atlanta on february 2nd, 2019 in Atlanta Georgia USA.

Dallas Cowboys

Player: Dak Prescott
Position: Quarterback
2020 cap hit (current season): $31,409,000
2020 base salary (current season): $31,409,000

More From GOBankingRates

Methodology: To find the highest-paid player on every NFL team, GOBankingRates used Spotrac’s salary rankings data for the upcoming 2020 NFL season. The highest-paid player on each team was determined by the player’s salary cap hit. Each player’s base salary for the corresponding season was included as supplemental data. All data and figures were collected and are up to date as of May 22, 2020.

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: The Highest-Paid Player on Every NFL Team