Highest-paid players at every NFL position: Christian Gonzalez resets cornerback market with $132-million deal — SkimNews
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Patrick Mahomes signed a revised 8-year, $504.75 million extension at $63M AAV, becoming the first NFL player in history to sign a deal worth more than $500 million.
- Will Anderson Jr. became the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history with a 3-year, $150 million deal at $50M AAV, finishing second in 2025 Defensive Player of the Year voting after ranking second among defenders in pressures (85).
- Christian Gonzalez reset the cornerback market with a 4-year, $135 million extension ($33.75M AAV), surpassing Devon Witherspoon just one day before the season opener.
- Jahmyr Gibbs replaced Bijan Robinson as the highest-paid running back in NFL history with a 3-year, $67.5 million deal that includes $51.5 million guaranteed.
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the 2025 NFL Offensive Player of the Year, signed a 4-year, $168.8 million extension after leading the league with 1,793 receiving yards and 119 receptions on Seattle's Super Bowl-winning team.
- Darnell Wright's 4-year, $116 million extension includes $93 million guaranteed — the most guaranteed money ever for an offensive lineman — making him the highest-paid right tackle in league history.
- Brandon Aubrey signed the largest kicker contract in NFL history at 4 years, $28 million, after going undrafted in 2022 and beginning his career as a two-time USFL champion.
Why it matters: The NFL salary cap has more than doubled in the last decade-plus to over $300M per team for 2026, fueling records from Mahomes' $504.75M total to $93M guarantees for an offensive lineman — even kicker and cornerback deals are now market-resetting benchmarks that ripple into every negotiation.
Ask SkimNews
