NFL
These are the lowest and highest paid mascots in the NFL
It’s about as close to the game as you can get without being a professional football player. The salary isn’t too bad either.
The NFL is about much more than what happens on the field across 80 minutes of action. It’s also about the show.
It’s the promotional events, the fans, and the global entertainment behemoth that is the Super Bowl. Those involved in the show - the halftime performers, the cheerleaders - play an important role in the grand spectacle of the NFL. But while cheerleaders and showbiz performers are have always been a topic of conversation, there’s another group that remain anonymous, their identities hidden from the adoring crowds: NFL mascots.
Mascots are the cuddly, larger-than-life characters that interact with fans on gameday. Often a vessel of team identity, mascots play a key part in the experience of American football. Here’s a look at the pay for NFL mascots...
Which NFL mascot is the highest paid?
Performing in front of tens of thousands of fervent supporters every week, NFL mascots are under a lot of pressure to make their influence felt. They may not earn as much as the players but but mascots can earn good money, typically around $60,000 a year. Franchises rarely make their mascots’ salaries public, but over the years the annual earnings for many teams' mascots have been leaked.
The highest paid mascot is reckoned to be either the Dallas Cowboys’ Rowdy or the New England Patriots' Pat Patriot, who are both said to earn around $65,000 per year. As the flag-bearer for ‘America’s team’ Rowdy is one of the most-watched mascots in all sport. It’s a big gig.
Not every NFL team has a mascot, however. There are currently four teams without a mascot: New York Jets, Green Bay Packers, New York Giants and the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chargers previously had an unofficial mascot, Boltman, but creator Dan Jauregui retired him back in 2018 after more than 20 years behind the mask.
The Washington Commanders have only fairly recently added a mascot. The Commanders' Major Tuddy was introduced as part of the team’s rebrand in 2022. The anthropomorphic pig is a homage to the team’s famed offensive line of the 1980s, The Hogs.
Which NFL mascot has the lowest salary?
Without confirmed salaries for all 28 NFL mascots it is impossible to know for sure which is the league’s lowest earner. However the examples that we do have suggest that a handful are paid no more than $50,000 per year.
Here’s a closer look at the rumoured earnings for NFL mascots...
| No. | Mascots | Team | Earnings/season |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rowdy | Dallas Cowboys | $65,000 |
| 2 | Pat Patriot | New England Patriots | $65,000 |
| 3 | Sourdough Sam | San Francisco 49ers | $60,000 |
| 4 | Toro | Houston Texans | $60,000 |
| 5 | Staley Da Bear | Chicago Bears | $60,000 |
| 6 | Swoop | Philadelphia Eagles | $60,000 |
| 7 | Miles | Denver Broncos | $60,000 |
| 8 | Poe | Baltimore Ravens | $60,000 |
| 9 | Steely McBeam | Pittsburgh Steelers | $60,000 |
| 10 | Blue | Indianapolis Colts | $50,000 |
| 11 | Blitz | Seattle Seahawks | $50,000 |
| 12 | Freddie Falcon | Atlanta Falcons | $50,000 |
| 13 | Viktor | Minnesota Vikings | $50,000 |
| 14 | Sir Purr | Carolina Panthers | $50,000 |
As the numbers above show, there is relatively little variance in the amount earned by mascots in the NFL. However that’s not the same across all US sports and some are known to be making well over six figures.
In the NBA, Denver Nuggets’ Rocky is thought to earn $625,000 per year, making him the highest-paid mascot in all sports. Rocky was even inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame back in 2006, highlighting his status as the best in the business.
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