SALARYSPORT
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NFL AGENCY · 157 CLIENTS

Athletes First NFL clients and what they earn

$5,045,443,846 of career earnings negotiated for 157 clients, led by Aaron Rodgers on $418,158,010.

Athletes First is the biggest book in the league on career earnings, out of 162 firms with a client on record, and 8th of the 52 with five clients or more on money per client. The figures are what the players were paid rather than what the firm collected: an agent's fee is capped at 3% of the contract.

CLIENT EARNINGS $5.05bn
PER CLIENT $32.1m
CLIENTS 157
IN THE LEAGUE NOW 67
STILL CONTRACTED $356.5m

The richest careers on the Athletes First book

Money paid across a whole career

Aaron Rodgers $418.2m

Aaron Rodgers $418m Deshaun Watson $189m Jalen Ramsey $164m Jake Matthews $159m Tyron Smith $126m Harrison Smith $123m Grady Jarrett $122m Brian Burns $120m Christian Wilkins $111m Fred Warner $102m Derwin James $98m Calvin Ridley $92m Brandon Aiyuk $89m Jessie Bates III $84m Kevin Byard $81m Bud Dupree $80m Michael Pittman Jr. $80m Frank Ragnow $79m Antoine Winfield Jr. $73m Robert Woods $73m

Aaron Rodgers alone holds 8.3% of everything the firm's clients have earned.

Every Athletes First client ranked by NFL earnings

Money paid, and what is still contracted

157 clients

# Player Position Franchise Seasons Contracted Career earnings
001 Aaron Rodgers Quarterback New York Jets 21 $418,158,010$418.2m
002 Deshaun Watson Quarterback Cleveland Browns 8 $188,762,978$188.8m
003 Jalen Ramsey Cornerback Miami Dolphins 13 $45.7m $164,368,639$164.4m
004 Jake Matthews Left Tackle Atlanta Falcons 13 $158,680,093$158.7m
005 Tyron Smith Left Tackle New York Jets 14 $125,597,504$125.6m
006 Harrison Smith Safety Minnesota Vikings 15 $122,735,243$122.7m
007 Grady Jarrett Defensive Tackle Atlanta Falcons 11 $122,375,147$122.4m
008 Brian Burns Outside Linebacker New York Giants 10 $51.0m $119,759,466$119.8m
009 Christian Wilkins Defensive Tackle Las Vegas Raiders 9 $25.7m $110,590,010$110.6m
010 Fred Warner Inside Linebacker San Francisco 49ers 9 $101,576,901$101.6m
011 Derwin James Safety Los Angeles Chargers 9 $97,972,956$98.0m
012 Calvin Ridley Wide Receiver Tennessee Titans 9 $22.2m $91,995,024$92.0m
013 Brandon Aiyuk Wide Receiver San Francisco 49ers 9 $58.1m $88,531,342$88.5m
014 Jessie Bates III Safety Atlanta Falcons 9 $83,898,248$83.9m
015 Kevin Byard Safety Chicago Bears 10 $80,534,402$80.5m
016 Bud Dupree Outside Linebacker Los Angeles Chargers 12 $80,306,190$80.3m
017 Michael Pittman Jr. Wide Receiver Indianapolis Colts 7 $79,999,182$80.0m
018 Frank Ragnow Center Detroit Lions 9 $78,734,930$78.7m
019 Antoine Winfield Jr. Safety Tampa Bay Buccaneers 8 $19.6m $73,192,750$73.2m
020 Robert Woods Wide Receiver Houston Texans 12 $73,129,927$73.1m
021 Rob Havenstein Right Tackle Los Angeles Rams 11 $72,688,815$72.7m
022 Robert Hunt Guard Carolina Panthers 9 $37.0m $72,619,681$72.6m
023 Derrick Henry Running Back Baltimore Ravens 10 $72,407,928$72.4m
024 A.J. Terrell Cornerback Atlanta Falcons 9 $36.0m $71,845,238$71.8m
025 Justin Simmons Safety Atlanta Falcons 9 $70,202,947$70.2m
026 Budda Baker Safety Arizona Cardinals 8 $68,199,768$68.2m
027 Kenny Moore Cornerback Indianapolis Colts 10 $67,903,682$67.9m
028 Curtis Samuel Wide Receiver Buffalo Bills 10 $64,893,339$64.9m
029 Mark Andrews Tight End Baltimore Ravens 8 $63,415,474$63.4m
030 Xavier McKinney Safety Green Bay Packers 8 $16.8m $58,491,041$58.5m
031 Dre'Mont Jones Defensive End Seattle Seahawks 7 $57,452,240$57.5m
032 Quandre Diggs Safety Tennessee Titans 10 $52,949,796$52.9m
033 DaQuan Jones Defensive Tackle Buffalo Bills 11 $51,263,673$51.3m
034 A'Shawn Robinson Defensive End Carolina Panthers 11 $51,082,526$51.1m
035 Kyle Van Noy Outside Linebacker Baltimore Ravens 12 $50,498,393$50.5m
036 Carlton Davis Cornerback Detroit Lions 7 $49,982,353$50.0m
037 Austin Jackson Right Tackle Miami Dolphins 7 $49,785,256$49.8m
038 Damien Lewis Guard Carolina Panthers 8 $13.0m $46,616,665$46.6m
039 Cordarrelle Patterson Running Back Pittsburgh Steelers 13 $45,707,585$45.7m
040 Malik Hooker Safety Dallas Cowboys 10 $41,403,383$41.4m
041 DaVon Hamilton Defensive Tackle Jacksonville Jaguars 7 $40,651,258$40.7m
042 De'Vondre Campbell Outside Linebacker San Francisco 49ers 9 $39,173,318$39.2m
043 Shelby Harris Defensive Tackle Cleveland Browns 12 $38,896,611$38.9m
044 Micah Parsons Defensive End Dallas Cowboys 5 $38,403,792$38.4m
045 Ka'imi Fairbairn Kicker Houston Texans 11 $38,096,164$38.1m
046 Nick Chubb Running Back Cleveland Browns 7 $36,384,558$36.4m
047 C.J. Stroud Quarterback Houston Texans 4 $36,279,244$36.3m
048 Tyler Biadasz Center Washington Commanders 7 $34,904,986$34.9m
049 Derek Stingley Jr. Cornerback Houston Texans 4 $34,657,514$34.7m
050 Michael Davis Cornerback Washington Commanders 8 $33,305,679$33.3m
051 D'Andre Swift Running Back Chicago Bears 7 $32,668,499$32.7m
052 Tee Higgins Wide Receiver Cincinnati Bengals 5 $31,923,495$31.9m
053 Kenneth Murray Inside Linebacker Tennessee Titans 6 $28,687,166$28.7m
054 Austin Johnson Defensive Tackle Buffalo Bills 9 $27,662,229$27.7m
055 Aaron Brewer Center Miami Dolphins 7 $27,334,554$27.3m
056 Josh Oliver Tight End Minnesota Vikings 7 $25,209,550$25.2m
057 Sam Martin Punter Buffalo Bills 13 $24,028,866$24.0m
058 Charles Harris Defensive End Carolina Panthers 9 $23,967,956$24.0m
059 DJ Chark Wide Receiver Los Angeles Chargers 7 $23,790,259$23.8m
060 Jermaine Eluemunor Guard New York Giants 9 $23,455,567$23.5m
061 Troy Hill Cornerback Carolina Panthers 15 $22,823,802$22.8m
062 Cedrick Wilson Wide Receiver New Orleans Saints 8 $22,473,298$22.5m
063 Isaiah Simmons Inside Linebacker New York Giants 5 $21,723,394$21.7m
064 Drake London Wide Receiver Atlanta Falcons 4 $21,690,977$21.7m
065 Charles Omenihu Defensive End Kansas City Chiefs 6 $20,839,874$20.8m
066 Hjalte Froholdt Center Arizona Cardinals 8 $20,276,172$20.3m
067 Dawuane Smoot Defensive End Buffalo Bills 8 $20,201,790$20.2m
068 Raekwon Davis Defensive Tackle Indianapolis Colts 6 $19,920,703$19.9m
069 Justin Fields Quarterback Pittsburgh Steelers 4 $18,871,956$18.9m
070 Terrell Edmunds Safety Pittsburgh Steelers 9 $16,601,463$16.6m
071 Jack Fox Punter Detroit Lions 8 $16,412,709$16.4m
072 Emmanuel Forbes Cornerback Washington Commanders 4 $15,407,568$15.4m
073 Taliese Fuaga Left Tackle New Orleans Saints 4 $3.2m $14,187,499$14.2m
074 Deshon Elliott Safety Pittsburgh Steelers 8 $13,506,723$13.5m
075 David Long Inside Linebacker Miami Dolphins 6 $13,154,716$13.2m
076 Devin Lloyd Inside Linebacker Jacksonville Jaguars 4 $12,936,606$12.9m
077 Noah Igbinoghene Cornerback Washington Commanders 5 $12,686,536$12.7m
078 Samaje Perine Running Back Kansas City Chiefs 10 $12,475,965$12.5m
079 Nolan Smith Outside Linebacker Philadelphia Eagles 4 $11,992,408$12.0m
080 E.J. Speed Outside Linebacker Indianapolis Colts 6 $11,892,736$11.9m
081 Brian Thomas Jr. Wide Receiver Jacksonville Jaguars 4 $2.8m $11,865,889$11.9m
082 Daxton Hill Safety Cincinnati Bengals 4 $11,667,013$11.7m
083 Eric Wilson Inside Linebacker Green Bay Packers 10 $11,350,625$11.4m
084 Joe Tryon Outside Linebacker Tampa Bay Buccaneers 4 $11,171,238$11.2m
085 P.J. Locke Safety Denver Broncos 7 $10,764,359$10.8m
086 Tyler Guyton Left Tackle Dallas Cowboys 4 $2.6m $10,566,833$10.6m
087 Joey Porter Jr. Cornerback Pittsburgh Steelers 4 $9,618,344$9.6m
088 Antonio Hamilton Cornerback Atlanta Falcons 9 $9,175,822$9.2m
089 Ashtyn Davis Safety New York Jets 5 $9,072,919$9.1m
090 Evan Brown Center Arizona Cardinals 9 $8,741,463$8.7m
091 Aaron Banks Guard San Francisco 49ers 4 $8,565,019$8.6m
092 Harrison Bryant Tight End Las Vegas Raiders 5 $8,435,811$8.4m
093 Justice Hill Running Back Baltimore Ravens 6 $8,368,708$8.4m
094 Joe Tippmann Center New York Jets 4 $8,359,598$8.4m
095 Andrew Booth Jr. Cornerback Dallas Cowboys 4 $8,305,824$8.3m
096 Michael Deiter Guard Washington Commanders 6 $8,287,781$8.3m
097 Cam Akers Running Back Houston Texans 6 $7,454,811$7.5m
098 Jaquan Brisker Safety Chicago Bears 4 $7,355,540$7.4m
099 Cooper DeJean Cornerback Philadelphia Eagles 4 $2.1m $7,222,673$7.2m
100 Ben Bredeson Guard Tampa Bay Buccaneers 5 $6,827,630$6.8m
101 George Pickens Wide Receiver Pittsburgh Steelers 4 $6,752,178$6.8m
102 Da'shawn Hand Defensive End Miami Dolphins 9 $6,686,440$6.7m
103 Chuba Hubbard Running Back Carolina Panthers 4 $6,254,174$6.3m
104 Dayo Odeyingbo Defensive End Indianapolis Colts 4 $6,177,521$6.2m
105 Maason Smith Defensive End Jacksonville Jaguars 4 $1.9m $6,130,154$6.1m
106 Larry Borom Right Tackle Chicago Bears 4 $5,874,080$5.9m
107 Zach Harrison Defensive End Atlanta Falcons 4 $5,865,644$5.9m
108 Michael Wilson Wide Receiver Arizona Cardinals 4 $5,743,739$5.7m
109 Drew Sanders Inside Linebacker Denver Broncos 4 $5,734,728$5.7m
110 Jaylinn Hawkins Safety New England Patriots 5 $5,718,820$5.7m
111 Josh Downs Wide Receiver Indianapolis Colts 4 $5,520,460$5.5m
112 Khaleke Hudson Inside Linebacker Cleveland Browns 6 $5,370,066$5.4m
113 Malik Willis Quarterback Green Bay Packers 5 $5,349,200$5.3m
114 Jeremy Ruckert Tight End New York Jets 4 $5,044,908$5.0m
115 Malcolm Koonce Defensive End Las Vegas Raiders 4 $4,997,960$5.0m
116 Brian Robinson Running Back Washington Commanders 4 $4,983,797$5.0m
117 Hunter Long Tight End Los Angeles Rams 4 $4,968,706$5.0m
118 Joseph Ossai Defensive End Cincinnati Bengals 4 $4,947,616$4.9m
119 Ji'Ayir Brown Safety San Francisco 49ers 4 $4,944,488$4.9m
120 Ennis Rakestraw Cornerback Detroit Lions 4 $1.7m $4,805,463$4.8m
121 Kingsley Suamataia Left Tackle Kansas City Chiefs 4 $1.7m $4,750,845$4.8m
122 Brett Rypien Quarterback Minnesota Vikings 11 $4,644,031$4.6m
123 Amen Ogbongbemiga Outside Linebacker Chicago Bears 4 $4,540,000$4.5m
124 Trey Benson Running Back Arizona Cardinals 4 $1.6m $4,441,676$4.4m
125 Owen Pappoe Outside Linebacker Arizona Cardinals 4 $4,312,324$4.3m
126 Jake Haener Quarterback New Orleans Saints 4 $4,294,816$4.3m
127 Calen Bullock Safety Houston Texans 4 $1.6m $4,263,317$4.3m
128 Jermaine Burton Wide Receiver Cincinnati Bengals 4 $1.6m $4,232,138$4.2m
129 Clayton Tune Quarterback Arizona Cardinals 4 $4,228,356$4.2m
130 Christian Haynes Guard Seattle Seahawks 4 $1.6m $4,216,478$4.2m
131 Tylan Wallace Wide Receiver Baltimore Ravens 4 $4,165,364$4.2m
132 Jay Tufele Defensive Tackle Cincinnati Bengals 4 $4,155,965$4.2m
133 Josh Whyle Tight End Tennessee Titans 4 $4,131,947$4.1m
134 Cameron Mitchell Cornerback Cleveland Browns 4 $4,110,570$4.1m
135 Christopher Smith II Safety Las Vegas Raiders 4 $4,084,976$4.1m
136 Henry To'oTo'o Outside Linebacker Houston Texans 4 $4,084,976$4.1m
137 Kamren Kinchens Safety Los Angeles Rams 4 $1.6m $4,038,178$4.0m
138 Bralen Trice Outside Linebacker Atlanta Falcons 4 $1.6m $4,001,138$4.0m
139 Layden Robinson Guard New England Patriots 4 $1.2m $3,682,072$3.7m
140 Theo Johnson Tight End New York Giants 4 $1.2m $3,661,436$3.7m
141 Ronnie Perkins Outside Linebacker Denver Broncos 4 $3,596,823$3.6m
142 River Cracraft Wide Receiver Miami Dolphins 8 $3,507,337$3.5m
143 Darren Hall Cornerback Arizona Cardinals 4 $3,442,748$3.4m
144 Scott Daly Long Snapper Chicago Bears 4 $3,421,388$3.4m
145 Logan Bruss Guard Los Angeles Rams 4 $3,250,024$3.3m
146 Jeremiah Trotter Jr. Inside Linebacker Philadelphia Eagles 4 $1.2m $3,158,468$3.2m
147 Caelen Carson Cornerback Dallas Cowboys 4 $1.2m $3,084,276$3.1m
148 Cedric Johnson Defensive End Cincinnati Bengals 4 $1.2m $2,968,388$3.0m
149 Cameron McGrone Outside Linebacker Indianapolis Colts 5 $2,875,153$2.9m
150 Javion Cohen Guard Cleveland Browns 3 $2,860,000$2.9m
151 Andrew Raym Center Carolina Panthers 3 $2,845,000$2.8m
152 Ronnie Hickman Safety Cleveland Browns 3 $2,715,000$2.7m
153 Curtis Jacobs Inside Linebacker New England Patriots 3 $2,310,000$2.3m
154 Irvin Charles Wide Receiver New York Jets 3 $1,652,167$1.7m
155 Nephi Sewell Outside Linebacker New Orleans Saints 3 $1,640,835$1.6m
156 Nesta Jade Silvera Defensive Tackle Las Vegas Raiders 2 $1,640,709$1.6m
157 Rezjohn Wright Cornerback New Orleans Saints 3 $1,520,000$1.5m

The table holds every one of the 157 clients the firm has on record. Money written into a season not yet played sits in its own column and is not counted in the career figure beside it.

How Athletes First splits a contract

Every itemised dollar on the book, against the league's own split

33.2% signing and option bonus

  • Base salary 51.3%
  • Signing bonus 29.6%
  • Restructured money 6.5%
  • Roster bonus 7.7%
  • Option bonus 3.6%
  • Workout bonus 0.8%
  • Incentives 0.4%
Part of the contract Share on this book Share across the league Negotiated
Base salary 51.3% 52.9% $2,749,855,102$2.75bn
Signing bonus 29.6% 27.6% $1,586,003,810$1.59bn
Restructured money 6.5% 6.3% $350,498,134$350.5m
Roster bonus 7.7% 6.6% $413,253,730$413.3m
Option bonus 3.6% 5.3% $194,287,580$194.3m
Workout bonus 0.8% 0.7% $41,849,641$41.8m
Incentives 0.4% 0.5% $23,746,213$23.7m

Athletes First splits a contract almost exactly the way the league does: 33.2% of its clients' itemised money is signing or option bonus against 33.0% across every career on record. The signing bonus page ranks every career in the league by that part alone.

What Athletes First represents

Client earnings by position

17 positions

Safety $844m Quarterback $681m Wide Receiver $542m Cornerback $524m Defensive Tackle $417m Outside Linebacker $350m Left Tackle $314m Defensive End $250m Running Back $231m Inside Linebacker $206m Center $181m Guard $180m Right Tackle $128m Tight End $115m Punter $40m Kicker $38m Long Snapper $3.4m

Safety is where the book's money is, $844,313,330 across 22 clients. Every position is ranked across the league here.

Where the Athletes First clients are

The franchises holding them, and what those careers are worth

32 franchises

# Franchise Clients Career earnings
01 New York Jets 6 $567,885,106$567.9m
02 Atlanta Falcons 9 $547,735,254$547.7m
03 Cleveland Browns 7 $279,099,783$279.1m
04 Miami Dolphins 6 $264,836,942$264.8m
05 San Francisco 49ers 5 $242,791,068$242.8m
06 Carolina Panthers 7 $226,209,804$226.2m
07 Los Angeles Chargers 3 $202,069,405$202.1m
08 Baltimore Ravens 5 $198,855,867$198.9m
09 Houston Texans 7 $197,965,953$198.0m
10 Indianapolis Colts 7 $194,289,437$194.3m
11 Buffalo Bills 5 $188,049,897$188.0m
12 Tennessee Titans 4 $177,763,933$177.8m
13 New York Giants 4 $168,599,863$168.6m
14 Minnesota Vikings 3 $152,588,824$152.6m
15 Detroit Lions 4 $149,935,455$149.9m
16 Chicago Bears 6 $134,393,909$134.4m
17 Las Vegas Raiders 5 $129,749,466$129.7m
18 Arizona Cardinals 8 $119,386,246$119.4m
19 Pittsburgh Steelers 6 $111,058,249$111.1m
20 Washington Commanders 6 $109,576,347$109.6m
21 Dallas Cowboys 5 $101,764,108$101.8m
22 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3 $91,191,618$91.2m
23 Los Angeles Rams 4 $84,945,723$84.9m
24 Green Bay Packers 3 $75,190,866$75.2m
25 Jacksonville Jaguars 4 $71,583,907$71.6m
26 Seattle Seahawks 2 $61,668,718$61.7m
27 Cincinnati Bengals 6 $59,894,615$59.9m
28 New Orleans Saints 5 $44,116,448$44.1m
29 Kansas City Chiefs 3 $38,066,684$38.1m
30 Philadelphia Eagles 3 $22,373,549$22.4m
31 Denver Broncos 3 $20,095,910$20.1m
32 New England Patriots 3 $11,710,892$11.7m

What the book is still owed

Money written into seasons that have not been played

$356.5m across 28 clients

Brandon Aiyuk $58m Brian Burns $51m Jalen Ramsey $46m Robert Hunt $37m A.J. Terrell $36m Christian Wilkins $26m Calvin Ridley $22m Antoine Winfield Jr. $20m Xavier McKinney $17m Damien Lewis $13m Taliese Fuaga $3.2m Brian Thomas Jr. $2.8m Tyler Guyton $2.6m Cooper DeJean $2.1m Maason Smith $1.9m

This is the part of the job that has already been done and not yet paid for. The whole league is ranked by contracted money here.

Where Athletes First recruits

The programmes its clients came out of

66 schools

Alabama 9
Ohio State 9
Clemson 8
Penn State 8
Southern California 7
Florida State 5
Wisconsin 5
Louisiana State 5
Oklahoma 5
Texas 5
Georgia 5
Brigham Young 4
Michigan 4
Oklahoma State 4
California 3

The bars count clients rather than dollars, because a firm recruits by the head and the money follows years later. Alabama has sent it 9 players. Every college is ranked by NFL earnings here.

What Athletes First clients are paid each season

Every year of every career on the book, added together

Peak in 2024

2024 is the book's biggest year on record at $957,589,307. The whole 2024 payroll is ranked by player here.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Athletes First's highest paid NFL client?

Aaron Rodgers, $418,158,010, a first-round pick in 2005, 24th overall. Deshaun Watson is second on $188,762,978.

How much have Athletes First clients earned in the NFL?

$5,045,443,846 across 157 careers, $32,136,585 a client. Athletes First is the biggest book in the league on career earnings, out of 162 firms with a client on record, and 8th of the 52 with five clients or more on money per client.

How much does Athletes First make from its NFL clients?

An agent's fee is capped at 3% of a player's contract, so a book worth $5,045,443,846 in career earnings is a fee pool of about $151,363,315 spread across the firm and the whole length of those careers. Every figure on this page is what the players were paid.

What kind of players does Athletes First represent?

Safety more than any other on money, $844,313,330 across 22 clients. The book covers 17 positions in all.

How many Athletes First clients are in the NFL now?

67 men of the 157 here was on a roster in 2026, and $356,518,832 is written into contracts for seasons not yet played.

Where to next

The firms either side of this one, and the rest of the money

CAA Football · WME Sports · Excel Sports Management · Rosenhaus Sports · Ballengee Group · LAA Sports · UA Sports · E. Overstreet Sports Management · Every agency · NFL career earnings

Athletes First clients

Other agencies

By season

Elsewhere in American football