NFL's Highest-Paid Player in 2026 Revealed, and It's Not Patrick Mahomes
Forbes' 2026 highest-paid athletes list, released Friday, revealed something surprising, a quarterback is no longer the league's top earner.
Last year, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott led the NFL with roughly $137 million in earnings. Before that, it was Baltimore Ravens star Lamar Jackson at about $100.5 million.
Tom Brady topped the list in 2022 at $83.9 million, while Prescott also claimed the crown in 2021 ($107.5 million) and Kirk Cousins in 2020 ($60.5 million).
Quarterbacks have long been the NFL's highest earners. But in 2026, the league's top-paid player was instead Green Bay Packers edge rusher Micah Parsons, who posted an estimated $86.4 million in earnings.
That places Parsons as the world’s 13th highest paid athlete, just one spot behind French soccer star Kylian Mbappe ($95 million), and one spot ahead of Formula One’s Max Verstappen ($86 million).
Parsons narrowly edged Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who came in at roughly $84.7 million.
Brock Purdy followed at $83.1 million, with Jackson ($73 million) and Josh Allen ($72.6 million) rounding out the top five.
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After his blockbuster move from Dallas to Green Bay, Parsons signed a massive four-year extension worth roughly $188 million, briefly making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.
That has since been taken over by the Houston Texans’ Will Anderson Jr., who recently signed a three-year contract extension worth $150 million, with an average annual salary of $50 million.
Parsons' deal, however, included $136 million guaranteed and roughly $123.1 million guaranteed at signing, creating a massive earnings spike in the 2025-26 cycle.
Off the field, Parsons has built one of the NFL's strongest endorsement portfolios, with major partnerships including Adidas, Old Spice, C4 Energy, Tostitos, and Jams peanut butter, along with other consumer brands.
He also serves as President of Bleacher Report's B/R Gridiron, where he hosts “The Edge with Micah Parsons,” which remains one of the most listened to sports podcasts in the industry.
Mahomes is still arguably the face of the league and has longstanding ties to Adidas, State Farm, Subway, Coors Light, Oakley, and multiple investment ventures.
Yet Parsons still managed to out-earn him overall, and that’s what makes it so surprising.
Historically, quarterbacks dominate the earnings leaderboard because they command the league's richest contracts and biggest sponsorship deals. Yet Parsons, an edge rusher, managed to outpace even household names like Mahomes, Allen, Prescott, and Jackson.
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This story was originally published May 22, 2026 at 3:02 PM.