NFL's Highest Paid Players

Earlier this season, Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady agreed to a four-year contract extension with the New England Patriots. Brady’s deal, worth $72 million over four years, with $48.5 million guaranteed makes Brady the highest paid player in NFL history (highest yearly average). 

Peyton Manning held the title of highest paid quarterback in the league, earning $15.7 million in 2010, the last year of his deal. This year marks the first time that three-time winning Super Bowl Champion Tom Brady will be compensated more than Peyton Manning; considering Brady’s resume, some may say this fact seems unfair. 

Although they may be two of the best quarterbacks today, their beginnings in the NFL were vastly different; Brady being the 199^th player drafted in 2000, and Manning, the first player picked overall in 1998. Their careers have been linked since Tom Brady took over in New England, and many say that when these two meet, the best two quarterbacks in the NFL are on showcase. If you’re a fan, you know that oftentimes the winner of these games either knocks the other team out of the playoffs or has the upper hand entering the playoffs. Regardless, these two, very good quarterbacks, will forever be linked in football tales this generation will tell their grandchildren. 

Now that you have met two of the characters, here are the rest, who they are and what they are paid. This list is based on the amount each player is guaranteed in 2010 according to Forbes.com.

Position	Player	Team	Guaranteed
QB	Tom Brady	Patriots	$18 million
QB	Peyton Manning	Colts	$15.8 million
DB	Nnamdi Asomugha	Raiders	$14.3 million
QB	Donovan McNabb	Redskins	$11.5 million
DB	Champ Bailey	Broncos	$9.5 million
QB	Sam Bradford	Rams	$8.3 million
DT	Ndamukong Suh	Lions	$8 million
LB	Elvis Dumervil	Broncos	$7.2 million
DE	Julius Peppers	Bears	$7 million
QB	Matthew Stafford	Lions	$6.9 million