Who are the NFL's highest-paid players at each position?

In the NFL, the bar is always rising. Each offseason, superstars reset the market, altering the salaries that the best players at each respective position expect to receive. The Eagles' Saquon Barkley and the Raiders' Maxx Crosby are the latest to do so. 

Barkley became the highest-paid running back of all time on Tuesday, agreeing to a two-year extension worth $41 million. A day later, Crosby not only became the highest-paid defensive player, but he also became the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. He inked a three-year extension worth $106.5 million with $91 million guaranteed. 

They might not be the only ones this offseason, though. Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase and Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons are among the candidates who could become the highest-paid players at their position. 

With that, we took a look at the NFL's highest-paid players per average annual value (AAV), with all salary numbers coming via Spotrac.

Prescott became the NFL's highest-paid player when he signed his extension on the eve of the Cowboys' Week 1 game against the Cleveland Browns last season. The four-year, $240 million deal was the culmination of an awkward offseason in which Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was wishy-washy about paying Prescott. 

Prescott earned his long-term deal after the best season of his career in 2023, when he completed a career-high 69.5% of his passes and threw a league-leading 36 touchdowns. His completion percentage dropped to 64.7 across the first eight games of the 2024 season before missing the final nine games with a partially torn hamstring. 

The value of running backs is constantly being disputed and Barkley did a lot to help his peers, and himself, out. Barkley was rewarded with a two-year, $41