NFL: Who is the highest paid quarterback?

Cincinnati Bengals star Joe Burrow boasts the highest salary of any quarterback - and indeed any player in any position - in the NFL for 2024. As for Sunday’s Super Bowl stars, Patrick Mahomes and Brock Purdy, the Chiefs’ two-time championship winner is eighth on the list, while the 49ers’ second-year starter is 66th out of 75, a reflection of the fact he was the last pick in the 2022 draft.

According to figures compiled by Spotrac, a website that specialises in ranking football players’ financial values, Burrow leads the league’s top earners with an average annual pay packet of $55 million, ahead of LA Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, who is paid an average of $52.5m per season.

Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson completes the podium, coming in just behind Herbert on $52m a year.

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Quarterbacks dominate NFL’s biggest earners

Per Spotrac, quarterbacks occupy the top 15 places in the list of the NFL’s biggest yearly salaries. San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa, who picks up $34m on average per annum, is the top-paid non-QB.

Burrow became the NFL’s biggest annual earner when he signed a five-year contract extension with the Bengals in November. But the 27-year-old’s deal is not the most expensive in the league in terms of overall value; indeed, it comes in well behind the $450m contract that Chiefs quarterback Mahomes penned in Kansas City in 2020. However, that’s because Mahomes’ Chiefs agreement is due to run for 10 years, working out at a $45m average salary that leaves him eighth in the NFL when it comes to annual pay.

Mahomes vs Purdy at Super Bowl LVIII

This weekend, Mahomes comes up against Purdy, two players who have had vastly different career trajectories, which is reflected in their pay.

Kansas City, who are the defending NFL champions, have played in six straight AFC Championships with Mahomes at quarterback, and will be making their fourth Super Bowl appearance in five years.

Selected by San Francisco with the 262nd and final pick of the 2022 draft, Purdy has significantly exceeded expectations, establishing himself as the 49ers’ starting QB and leading his team to the Super Bowl in just his second year as starter.

He currently earns a comparatively paltry salary of $934,000 a year, but doesn’t look like San Francisco can improve the 24-year-old’s personal terms in the immediate future. CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones has noted that, due to NFL rules on player contracts, the Californian franchise can’t give him a new deal until 2025 at the earliest.

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Super Bowl LVIII: live with AS USA

You’ll have the option of following live text commentary of the 49ers vs the Chiefs on AS USA.

Super Bowl LVIII: when, where, how to watch?

The Chiefs face the 49ers at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada, on Sunday 11 February 2024, with kick-off scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET / 3:30 p.m. PT. The game will be broadcast in the US on CBS and Paramount+.

You can also watch the 49ers face the Chiefs at Super Bowl LVIII on fuboTV, which offers a free trial

Kansas City are bidding to become only the eighth team to win back-to-back Super Bowls after their victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Phoenix last year. San Francisco, meanwhile, are chasing their sixth championship but their first since all the way back in 1995.