Most Expensive Super Bowl Rosters of the Past Decade
Cash is king, and the only way to achieve royalty in the NFL is to spend big.
However, as the following slideshow illustrates, teams have to spend wisely. The franchises that win Super Bowl titles often spread out their spending, not devoting too much of their salary cap to one player.
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GOBankingRates looked at the Super Bowl participants of the past decade and calculated the active roster total cap hit, plus the cap hit for the highest-paid player.
The average cap hit for the highest-paid player on each team was 13.09%, and the only time the percentage was over 20% was in Super Bowl LI, when quarterback Matt Ryan’s salary of $23,750,000 was 21.09% of the team’s salary cap. (Notably, the Falcons lost.)
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Which team had the highest total cap hit, and who were the highest-paid players of the past decade? Read on to find out more about these pricey teams.
Last updated: Jan. 28, 2021
18. Denver Broncos, XLVIII
Super Bowl result: Lost 43-8 to Seattle Seahawks
Super Bowl date: Feb. 2, 2014
Active Roster Total Cap Hit: $96,535,491
Highest-Paid Player on Roster: Quarterback Peyton Manning
Highest-Paid Player’s Cap Hit: $17,500,000
Highest-Paid Player’s % of Active Roster Cap Hit: 18.13%
Find Out: How Much Is Peyton Manning Worth?
17. Seattle Seahawks, XLIX
Super Bowl result: Lost 28-24 to New England Patriots
Super Bowl date: Feb. 1, 2015
Active Roster Total Cap Hit: $96,775,515
Highest-Paid Player on Roster: Left Tackle Russell Okung
Highest-Paid Player’s Cap Hit: $11,240,000
Highest-Paid Player’s % of Active Roster Cap Hit: 11.61%
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16. New England Patriots, XLVI
Super Bowl result: Lost 21-17 to New York Giants
Super Bowl date: Feb. 5, 2012
Active Roster Total Cap Hit: $99,687,539
Highest-Paid Player on Roster: Quarterback Tom Brady
Highest-Paid Player’s Cap Hit: $12,950,000
Highest-Paid Player’s % of Active Roster Cap Hit: 12.99%
Find Out: What Is Tom Brady’s Net Worth?
15. Baltimore Ravens, XLVII
Super Bowl result: Won 34-31 over San Francisco 49ers
Super Bowl date: Feb. 3, 2013
Active Roster Total Cap Hit: $101,262,723
Highest-Paid Player on Roster: Outside Linebacker Terrell Suggs
Highest-Paid Player’s Cap Hit: $11,520,000
Highest-Paid Player’s % of Active Roster Cap Hit: 11.38%
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14. Seattle Seahawks, XLVIII
Super Bowl result: Won 43-8 over Denver Broncos
Super Bowl date: Feb. 2, 2014
Active Roster Total Cap Hit: $101,503,464
Highest-Paid Player on Roster: Left Tackle Russell Okung
Highest-Paid Player’s Cap Hit: $9,540,000
Highest-Paid Player’s % of Active Roster Cap Hit: 9.40%
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13. New England Patriots, XLIX
Super Bowl result: Won 28-24 over Seattle Seahawks
Super Bowl date: Feb. 1, 2015
Active Roster Total Cap Hit: $102,677,088
Highest-Paid Player on Roster: Quarterback Tom Brady
Highest-Paid Player’s Cap Hit: $14,800,000
Highest-Paid Player’s % of Active Roster Cap Hit: 14.41%
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12. Atlanta Falcons, LI
Super Bowl result: Lost 34-28 in overtime to New England Patriots
Super Bowl date: Feb. 5, 2017
Active Roster Total Cap Hit: $112,615,074
Highest-Paid Player on Roster: Quarterback Matt Ryan
Highest-Paid Player’s Cap Hit: $23,750,000
Highest-Paid Player’s % of Active Roster Cap Hit: 21.09%
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11. New York Giants, XLVI
Super Bowl result: Won 21-17 over New England Patriots
Super Bowl date: Feb. 5, 2012
Active Roster Total Cap Hit: $115,157,173
Highest-Paid Player on Roster: Quarterback Eli Manning
Highest-Paid Player’s Cap Hit: $14,100,000
Highest-Paid Player’s % of Active Roster Cap Hit: 12.24%
Find Out: How Much Is Eli Manning Worth?
10. New England Patriots, LI
Super Bowl result: Won 34-28 in overtime over Atlanta Falcons
Super Bowl date: Feb. 5, 2017
Active Roster Total Cap Hit: $117,616,342
Highest-Paid Player on Roster: Quarterback Tom Brady
Highest-Paid Player’s Cap Hit: $13,764,705
Highest-Paid Player’s % of Active Roster Cap Hit: 11.70%
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9. Carolina Panthers, 50
Super Bowl result: Lost 24-10 to Denver Broncos
Super Bowl date: Feb. 7, 2016
Active Roster Total Cap Hit: $121,004,274
Highest-Paid Player on Roster: Defensive End Charles Johnson
Highest-Paid Player’s Cap Hit: $20,020,000
Highest-Paid Player’s % of Active Roster Cap Hit: 16.54%
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8. Kansas City Chiefs, LIV
Super Bowl result: Won 31-20 over San Francisco 49ers
Super Bowl date: Feb. 2, 2020
Active Roster Total Cap Hit: $124,461,112
Highest-Paid Player on Roster: Wide Receiver Sammy Watkins
Highest-Paid Player’s Cap Hit: $19,200,000
Highest-Paid Player’s % of Active Roster Cap Hit: 15.43%
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7. New England Patriots, LII
Super Bowl result: Lost 41-33 to Philadelphia Eagles
Super Bowl date: Feb. 4, 2018
Active Roster Total Cap Hit: $129,468,455
Highest-Paid Player on Roster: Quarterback Tom Brady
Highest-Paid Player’s Cap Hit: $14,000,000
Highest-Paid Player’s % of Active Roster Cap Hit: 10.81%
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6. Philadelphia Eagles, LII
Super Bowl result: Won 41-33 over New England Patriots
Super Bowl date: Feb. 4, 2018
Active Roster Total Cap Hit: $130,626,348
Highest-Paid Player on Roster: Wide Receiver Alshon Jeffery
Highest-Paid Player’s Cap Hit: $10,750,000
Highest-Paid Player’s % of Active Roster Cap Hit: 8.23%
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5. San Francisco 49ers, XLVII
Super Bowl result: Lost 34-31 to Baltimore Ravens
Super Bowl date: Feb. 3, 2013
Active Roster Total Cap Hit: $130,707,457
Highest-Paid Player on Roster: Inside Linebacker Patrick Willis
Highest-Paid Player’s Cap Hit: $17,777,332
Highest-Paid Player’s % of Active Roster Cap Hit: 13.60%
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4. Denver Broncos, 50
Super Bowl result: Won 24-10 over Carolina Panthers
Super Bowl date: Feb. 7, 2016
Active Roster Total Cap Hit: $134,668,943
Highest-Paid Player on Roster: Quarterback Peyton Manning
Highest-Paid Player’s Cap Hit: $17,500,000
Highest-Paid Player’s % of Active Roster Cap Hit: 12.99%
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3. New England Patriots, LIII
Super Bowl result: Won 13-3 over Los Angeles Rams
Super Bowl date: Feb. 3, 2019
Active Roster Total Cap Hit: $155,807,993
Highest-Paid Player on Roster: Quarterback Tom Brady
Highest-Paid Player’s Cap Hit: $22,000,000
Highest-Paid Player’s % of Active Roster Cap Hit: 14.12%
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2. Los Angeles Rams, LIII
Super Bowl result: Lost 13-3 to New England Patriots
Super Bowl date: Feb. 3, 2019
Active Roster Total Cap Hit: $158,606,483
Highest-Paid Player on Roster: Defensive Tackle Ndamukong Suh
Highest-Paid Player’s Cap Hit: $14,500,000
Highest-Paid Player’s % of Active Roster Cap Hit: 9.14%
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1. San Francisco 49ers, LIV
Super Bowl result: Lost 31-20 to Kansas City Chiefs
Super Bowl date: Feb. 2, 2020
Active Roster Total Cap Hit: $167,604,341
Highest-Paid Player on Roster: Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo
Highest-Paid Player’s Cap Hit: $20,000,000
Highest-Paid Player’s % of Active Roster Cap Hit: 11.93%
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Photo Disclaimer: Please note photos are for representational purposes only.
Methodology: In order to discover the most expensive Super Bowl rosters of the past decade, GOBankingRates first used Pro-Football Reference’s “Super Bowl History” data to identify the participants of the last decades’ Super Bowls, as well as the date the games were played. GOBankingRates then found for each Super Bowl’s participating teams: (1) active roster total cap hit for that season; (2) highest-paid player on the roster that season; (3) what the highest-paid player’s cap hit was for that season; and (4) what percent the highest player’s cap hit made up of the total active roster’s cap hit. All data was collected on and up to date as of Jan. 13, 2021.
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Most Expensive Super Bowl Rosters of the Past Decade
