SALARYSPORT
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NFL · OFFENCE · 130 CAREERS

Highest paid NFL guards

$2,520,027,068 paid to 130 guards, $19,384,824 a career, led by Quenton Nelson on $118,819,452.

Guard is the 8th best paid of the 18 positions the league has enough careers to rank, $19.4m a career against $23.0m for the average NFL career on this site, so it is one of the positions the league pays least. More of a guard's money is the weekly paycheque than the league average: 56.9% against 52.9%. That is the mark of a position a club can walk away from in March.

PER CAREER $19.4m
PAID IN ALL $2.52bn
CAREERS 130
STILL PLAYING 58
BASE SALARY 56.9%

The twenty richest guards

Money paid across a whole career

Quenton Nelson $118.8m

Quenton Nelson $119m Zack Martin $113m Brandon Scherff $111m Joel Bitonio $107m Joe Thuney $100m Chris Lindstrom $94m Kevin Zeitler $92m Shaq Mason $84m Elgton Jenkins $78m Robert Hunt $73m Andrus Peat $62m Wyatt Teller $62m Jonah Jackson $58m Ben Powers $57m Landon Dickerson $56m Graham Glasgow $54m Kevin Dotson $54m Laken Tomlinson $54m Samuel Cosmi $49m Cesar Ruiz $47m

Quenton Nelson has been paid $5.6m more than any other guard the site holds, and the twenty here account for 60.5% of everything the position has earned.

Every guard ranked by career earnings

Money paid, and what is still contracted

130 careers

# Player Franchise Seasons Signing Contracted Career earnings
001 Quenton Nelson Notre Dame Indianapolis Colts 9 $46.5m $118,819,452$118.8m
002 Zack Martin Notre Dame Dallas Cowboys 12 $30.6m $113,240,531$113.2m
003 Brandon Scherff Iowa Jacksonville Jaguars 10 $28.7m $110,726,076$110.7m
004 Joel Bitonio Nevada Cleveland Browns 12 $12.8m $107,196,955$107.2m
005 Joe Thuney North Carolina State Kansas City Chiefs 10 $17.8m $99,991,395$100.0m
006 Chris Lindstrom Boston College Atlanta Falcons 10 $36.2m $37.0m $93,727,754$93.7m
007 Kevin Zeitler Wisconsin Detroit Lions 13 $36.6m $92,114,200$92.1m
008 Shaq Mason Georgia Tech Houston Texans 12 $22.4m $84,310,656$84.3m
009 Elgton Jenkins Mississippi State Green Bay Packers 8 $27.0m $77,866,318$77.9m
010 Robert Hunt Louisiana-Lafayette Carolina Panthers 9 $29.9m $37.0m $72,619,681$72.6m
011 Andrus Peat Stanford Las Vegas Raiders 10 $20.0m $62,469,208$62.5m
012 Wyatt Teller Virginia Tech Cleveland Browns 8 $5.9m $61,750,167$61.8m
013 Jonah Jackson Ohio State Los Angeles Rams 7 $5.3m $58,011,986$58.0m
014 Ben Powers Oklahoma Denver Broncos 8 $13.7m $57,031,290$57.0m
015 Landon Dickerson Alabama Philadelphia Eagles 8 $23.8m $62.0m $56,206,219$56.2m
016 Graham Glasgow Michigan Detroit Lions 11 $19.4m $54,226,094$54.2m
017 Kevin Dotson Louisiana-Lafayette Los Angeles Rams 7 $4.9m $53,939,829$53.9m
018 Laken Tomlinson Duke Seattle Seahawks 10 $22.3m $53,931,821$53.9m
019 Samuel Cosmi Texas Washington Commanders 8 $22.2m $32.1m $49,178,082$49.2m
020 Cesar Ruiz Michigan New Orleans Saints 8 $14.3m $9.5m $47,179,206$47.2m
021 Damien Lewis Louisiana State Carolina Panthers 8 $16.1m $13.0m $46,616,665$46.6m
022 Isaac Seumalo Oregon State Pittsburgh Steelers 10 $11.7m $44,840,864$44.8m
023 Quinn Meinerz Wisconsin-Whitewater Denver Broncos 8 $12.3m $36.0m $42,839,236$42.8m
024 Alex Cappa Humboldt State Cincinnati Bengals 8 $9.8m $39,733,476$39.7m
025 Jon Runyan Michigan New York Giants 7 $7.7m $36,126,633$36.1m
026 Nate Davis North Carolina Charlotte Chicago Bears 7 $6.9m $35,641,730$35.6m
027 James Daniels Iowa Pittsburgh Steelers 7 $11.9m $34,469,274$34.5m
028 Alijah Vera-Tucker Southern California New York Jets 5 $8.9m $31,198,028$31.2m
029 Ezra Cleveland Boise State Jacksonville Jaguars 7 $9.9m $30,927,054$30.9m
030 Isaiah Wynn Georgia Miami Dolphins 7 $7.5m $25,971,838$26.0m
031 Trey Pipkins Sioux Falls Los Angeles Chargers 7 $8.4m $25,886,879$25.9m
032 Jon Feliciano Miami (FL) San Francisco 49ers 10 $7.5m $24,934,979$24.9m
033 Jermaine Eluemunor Texas A&M New York Giants 9 $6.6m $23,455,567$23.5m
034 Nick Allegretti Illinois Washington Commanders 8 $6.2m $22,102,933$22.1m
035 Peter Skoronski Northwestern Tennessee Titans 4 $11.3m $19,673,320$19.7m
036 Will Hernandez Texas-El Paso Arizona Cardinals 7 $6.2m $18,559,034$18.6m
037 Kenyon Green Texas A&M Houston Texans 4 $8.8m $15,953,405$16.0m
038 Greg Van Roten Pennsylvania New York Giants 10 $860k $15,138,919$15.1m
039 Zion Johnson Boston College Los Angeles Chargers 4 $7.9m $14,746,678$14.7m
040 Dalton Risner Kansas State Minnesota Vikings 6 $5.1m $14,090,573$14.1m
041 John Simpson Clemson New York Jets 6 $5.0m $14,036,953$14.0m
042 Tyler Smith Tulsa Dallas Cowboys 4 $6.9m $13,389,122$13.4m
043 David Edwards Wisconsin Buffalo Bills 7 $2.6m $13,384,282$13.4m
044 Cole Strange Tennessee-Chattanooga New England Patriots 4 $6.1m $12,255,970$12.3m
045 Blake Brandel Oregon State Minnesota Vikings 7 $2.3m $11,847,804$11.8m
046 Jordan Morgan Arizona Green Bay Packers 4 $7.1m $2.7m $11,456,196$11.5m
047 Matt Pryor Texas Christian Chicago Bears 7 $183k $10,672,783$10.7m
048 Cody Ford Oklahoma Cincinnati Bengals 6 $3.5m $10,186,643$10.2m
049 Matthew Bergeron Syracuse Atlanta Falcons 4 $3.5m $9,529,427$9.5m
050 Aaron Banks Notre Dame San Francisco 49ers 4 $2.5m $8,565,019$8.6m
051 Teven Jenkins Oklahoma State Chicago Bears 4 $3.5m $8,387,847$8.4m
052 Michael Deiter Wisconsin Washington Commanders 6 $1.4m $8,287,781$8.3m
053 Josh Jones Houston Baltimore Ravens 5 $1.7m $8,143,470$8.1m
054 Oli Udoh Elon New Orleans Saints 6 $569k $7,747,215$7.7m
055 Ed Ingram Louisiana State Minnesota Vikings 4 $1.5m $7,540,150$7.5m
056 Cody Mauch North Dakota State Tampa Bay Buccaneers 4 $2.4m $7,485,456$7.5m
057 Trystan Colon-Castillo Missouri Arizona Cardinals 6 $762k $6,967,745$7.0m
058 Ben Bredeson Michigan Tampa Bay Buccaneers 5 $494k $6,827,630$6.8m
059 Aaron Stinnie James Madison New York Giants 7 $407k $6,812,203$6.8m
060 Ben Bartch Saint John San Francisco 49ers 8 $764k $6,365,283$6.4m
061 O'Cyrus Torrence Florida Buffalo Bills 4 $1.5m $6,220,978$6.2m
062 Trey Smith Tennessee Kansas City Chiefs 4 $131k $5,760,464$5.8m
063 Tyler Steen Alabama Philadelphia Eagles 4 $1.2m $5,750,442$5.8m
064 Will Fries Penn State Indianapolis Colts 4 $85k $5,626,375$5.6m
065 Iosua Opeta Weber State Tampa Bay Buccaneers 6 $215k $5,243,029$5.2m
066 Royce Newman Mississippi Tampa Bay Buccaneers 4 $499k $5,174,344$5.2m
067 Cordell Volson North Dakota State Cincinnati Bengals 4 $657k $5,171,291$5.2m
068 Dylan Parham Memphis Las Vegas Raiders 4 $912k $5,131,429$5.1m
069 Kendrick Green Illinois Houston Texans 4 $906k $4,875,767$4.9m
070 Sean Rhyan California-Los Angeles Green Bay Packers 4 $830k $4,812,382$4.8m
071 Ben Cleveland Georgia Baltimore Ravens 4 $866k $4,719,124$4.7m
072 Nick Saldiveri Old Dominion New Orleans Saints 4 $842k $4,661,950$4.7m
073 Anthony Bradford Louisiana State Seattle Seahawks 4 $804k $4,643,984$4.6m
074 Sidy Sow Eastern Michigan New England Patriots 4 $764k $4,604,112$4.6m
075 Chandler Zavala North Carolina State Carolina Panthers 4 $772k $4,511,736$4.5m
076 Robert Jones Middle Tennessee State Miami Dolphins 4 $530k $4,455,000$4.5m
077 Isaiah Adams Illinois Arizona Cardinals 4 $1.2m $1.6m $4,365,035$4.4m
078 Max Mitchell Louisiana-Lafayette New York Jets 4 $796k $4,349,083$4.3m
079 Nick Leverett Rice New England Patriots 5 $330k $4,342,800$4.3m
080 Spencer Burford Texas-San Antonio San Francisco 49ers 4 $672k $4,332,056$4.3m
081 Christian Haynes Connecticut Seattle Seahawks 4 $1.0m $1.6m $4,216,478$4.2m
082 Zak Zinter Michigan Cleveland Browns 4 $991k $1.6m $4,157,730$4.2m
083 Jordan McFadden Clemson Los Angeles Chargers 4 $312k $4,152,140$4.2m
084 Dominick Puni Kansas San Francisco 49ers 4 $966k $1.6m $4,128,200$4.1m
085 Asim Richards North Carolina Dallas Cowboys 4 $245k $4,084,976$4.1m
086 Michael Dunn Maryland Cleveland Browns 7 $188k $4,062,330$4.1m
087 Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu Oregon Baltimore Ravens 4 $173k $4,013,192$4.0m
088 Spencer Anderson Maryland Pittsburgh Steelers 4 $78k $3,917,776$3.9m
089 Chris Paul Tulsa Washington Commanders 4 $104k $3,764,444$3.8m
090 Layden Robinson Texas A&M New England Patriots 4 $852k $1.2m $3,682,072$3.7m
091 Nick Zakelj Fordham San Francisco 49ers 4 $190k $3,674,801$3.7m
092 Tanor Bortolini Wisconsin Indianapolis Colts 4 $780k $1.2m $3,609,872$3.6m
093 Mason McCormick South Dakota State Pittsburgh Steelers 4 $765k $1.2m $3,594,896$3.6m
094 Cooper Hodges Appalachian State Jacksonville Jaguars 4 $105k $3,525,488$3.5m
095 Andrew Vorhees Southern California Baltimore Ravens 4 $102k $3,522,112$3.5m
096 Darian Kinnard Kentucky Philadelphia Eagles 4 $458k $3,324,412$3.3m
097 Logan Bruss Wisconsin Los Angeles Rams 4 $849k $3,250,024$3.3m
098 Jake Hanson Oregon New York Jets 5 $356k $3,194,576$3.2m
099 Nick Broeker Mississippi Houston Texans 4 $102k $3,192,100$3.2m
100 Lester Cotton Alabama Miami Dolphins 5 $136k $3,126,263$3.1m
101 Trevor Keegan Michigan Philadelphia Eagles 4 $254k $1.2m $3,084,276$3.1m
102 Sataoa Laumea Utah Seattle Seahawks 4 $217k $1.2m $3,046,516$3.0m
103 Christian Mahogany Boston College Detroit Lions 4 $138k $1.2m $2,968,388$3.0m
104 Elijah Klein Texas El-Paso Tampa Bay Buccaneers 4 $138k $1.2m $2,968,388$3.0m
105 C.J. Hanson Holy Cross Kansas City Chiefs 4 $85k $1.2m $2,914,784$2.9m
106 Dalton Tucker Marshall Indianapolis Colts 3 $40k $2,870,000$2.9m
107 Jake Kubas North Dakota State New York Giants 3 $30k $2,860,000$2.9m
108 Javion Cohen Miami (FL) Cleveland Browns 3 $30k $2,860,000$2.9m
109 Netane Muti Fresno State Detroit Lions 6 $467k $2,741,063$2.7m
110 T.J. Bass Oregon Dallas Cowboys 3 $10k $2,705,000$2.7m
111 Kyle Hinton Washburn Atlanta Falcons 5 $253k $2,635,735$2.6m
112 Nathan Thomas Louisiana-Lafayette Dallas Cowboys 4 $106k $1.2m $2,610,972$2.6m
113 LaDarius Henderson Michigan Houston Texans 4 $84k $1.2m $2,588,716$2.6m
114 KT Leveston Kansas State Los Angeles Rams 4 $81k $1.2m $2,585,736$2.6m
115 Kayode Awosika Buffalo Detroit Lions 4 $72k $2,580,561$2.6m
116 Carter O'Donnell Arizona Cardinals 5 $43k $2,542,961$2.5m
117 Jake Johanning Furman Las Vegas Raiders 3 $25k $2,530,000$2.5m
118 Jeremy Flax Kentucky Minnesota Vikings 3 $10k $2,515,000$2.5m
119 Bucky Williams Appalachian State Los Angeles Chargers 3 $2k $2,507,500$2.5m
120 McKade Mettauer Oklahoma Kansas City Chiefs 3 $1,000 $2,506,000$2.5m
121 Jarrett Kingston Southern California Carolina Panthers 4 $138k $1.2m $2,173,388$2.2m
122 Alec Anderson California-Los Angeles Buffalo Bills 3 $48k $1,880,500$1.9m
123 Mike Caliendo Western Michigan Kansas City Chiefs 3 $2k $1,872,000$1.9m
124 Jordan Meredith Western Kentucky Las Vegas Raiders 5 $76k $1,753,100$1.8m
125 Bill Murray William & Mary Chicago Bears 5 $25k $1,646,400$1.6m
126 Xavier Newman-Johnson Baylor New York Jets 4 $5k $1,517,501$1.5m
127 Zach Thomas San Diego State New England Patriots 4 $432k $1,485,336$1.5m
128 Andrew Rupcich Culver-Stockton Tennessee Titans 3 $13k $1,302,000
129 Jaxson Kirkland Washington Cincinnati Bengals 2 $30k $1,011,000
130 Ryan Coll Richmond Indianapolis Colts 2 $16k $486,000

The table holds every one of the 130 careers at the position. The contracted column is money written into a deal for a season that has not been played, so it is not in the career figure beside it. The whole league's contracted money is ranked here.

How a guard's money is paid

The seven parts of a contract, for this position and for the league

56.9% base salary

  • Base salary 56.9%
  • Signing bonus 25.2%
  • Restructured money 4.7%
  • Roster bonus 8.0%
  • Option bonus 4.1%
  • Workout bonus 0.7%
  • Incentives 0.5%
Part of the contract What it is This position The league Paid
Base salary the weekly paycheque, and the part that stops the day a player is cut 56.9% 52.9% $1,561,753,593$1.56bn
Signing bonus paid up front and guaranteed the moment the contract is signed 25.2% 27.6% $691,199,098$691.2m
Restructured money base salary converted to signing money so a deal fits under the cap 4.7% 6.3% $128,413,348$128.4m
Roster bonus paid for being on the roster on a named day of the year 8.0% 6.6% $218,372,943$218.4m
Option bonus paid to take up a season already written into the deal 4.1% 5.3% $113,525,000$113.5m
Workout bonus paid for turning up to the offseason programme 0.7% 0.7% $20,088,913$20.1m
Incentives paid for hitting a number 0.5% 0.5% $12,365,366$12.4m

More of a guard's money is the weekly paycheque than the league average: 56.9% against 52.9%. That is the mark of a position a club can walk away from in March. Base salary and signing bonus money are each ranked across the whole league on their own pages.

What the league pays guards each season

Every guard on a payroll that year, added together

Peak in 2024

2024 is the biggest year for guard pay on record at $513,051,178 across 132 players, which is $3.9m each. The whole 2024 payroll is here.

Guard money by franchise

What the guards on each roster have earned in their careers

32 franchises

# Franchise Players Per player Career earnings
01 Cleveland Browns 5 $36.0m $180,027,182$180.0m
02 Detroit Lions 5 $30.9m $154,630,306$154.6m
03 Jacksonville Jaguars 3 $48.4m $145,178,618$145.2m
04 Dallas Cowboys 5 $27.2m $136,030,601$136.0m
05 Indianapolis Colts 5 $26.3m $131,411,699$131.4m
06 Carolina Panthers 4 $31.5m $125,921,470$125.9m
07 Los Angeles Rams 4 $29.4m $117,787,575$117.8m
08 Kansas City Chiefs 5 $22.6m $113,044,643$113.0m
09 Houston Texans 5 $22.2m $110,920,644$110.9m
10 Atlanta Falcons 3 $35.3m $105,892,916$105.9m
11 Denver Broncos 2 $49.9m $99,870,526$99.9m
12 Green Bay Packers 3 $31.4m $94,134,896$94.1m
13 Pittsburgh Steelers 4 $21.7m $86,822,810$86.8m
14 New York Giants 5 $16.9m $84,393,322$84.4m
15 Washington Commanders 4 $20.8m $83,333,240$83.3m
16 Las Vegas Raiders 4 $18.0m $71,883,737$71.9m
17 Philadelphia Eagles 4 $17.1m $68,365,349$68.4m
18 Seattle Seahawks 4 $16.5m $65,838,799$65.8m
19 New Orleans Saints 3 $19.9m $59,588,371$59.6m
20 Chicago Bears 4 $14.1m $56,348,760$56.3m
21 Cincinnati Bengals 4 $14.0m $56,102,410$56.1m
22 New York Jets 5 $10.9m $54,296,141$54.3m
23 San Francisco 49ers 6 $8.7m $52,000,338$52.0m
24 Los Angeles Chargers 4 $11.8m $47,293,197$47.3m
25 Minnesota Vikings 4 $9.0m $35,993,527$36.0m
26 Miami Dolphins 3 $11.2m $33,553,101$33.6m
27 Arizona Cardinals 4 $8.1m $32,434,775$32.4m
28 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 5 $5.5m $27,698,847$27.7m
29 New England Patriots 5 $5.3m $26,370,290$26.4m
30 Buffalo Bills 3 $7.2m $21,485,760$21.5m
31 Tennessee Titans 2 $10.5m $20,975,320$21.0m
32 Baltimore Ravens 4 $5.1m $20,397,898$20.4m

A career total lands on the franchise a player is at now, so this is a ranking of which rosters hold the expensive guards rather than of which clubs wrote the cheques. Every franchise is ranked here.

Where a guard is drafted

Career earnings by the round a player was taken in

91 with a round on record

Round 1 $47m Round 2 $34m Round 3 $25m Round 4 $18m Round 5 $16m Round 6 $6.7m Round 7 $3.4m

A first-round guard has earned $47.3m a career against $3.4m for one taken in round 7. The whole draft is ranked here.

Which colleges produce the richest guards

Schools with three or more in the position

13 colleges

Notre Dame $241m
Michigan $154m
Louisiana-Lafayette $134m
Wisconsin $121m
Boston College $111m
Oklahoma $70m
Alabama $65m
Louisiana State $59m
Texas A&M $43m
Southern California $37m
Illinois $31m
North Dakota State $16m
Oregon $9.9m

Notre Dame has put 3 guards into the league, worth $240,625,002 between them. Every college is ranked across all positions here.

Frequently asked questions

Who is the highest paid NFL guard of all time?

Quenton Nelson, $118,819,452, a first-round pick in 2018. Zack Martin is second on $113,240,531.

How much does an NFL guard earn over a career?

$19,384,824 on average across the 130 careers here, and 8th of 18 positions on money per career. The figure is money actually paid rather than the headline value of a contract.

Is a guard's money guaranteed?

25.2% of it arrives as a signing bonus, which is the part that cannot be taken back, against 27.6% across the league. The other 56.9% is base salary and it stops the day a player is released.

Which franchise has paid the most at guard?

Cleveland Browns, $180,027,182 across the 5 players on its books, counted as everything those careers have earned anywhere.

How many NFL guards are still playing?

58 of the 130 here were on a roster in 2026, with $249,914,787 written into contracts for seasons not yet played.

Where to next

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

Defensive Tackle · Cornerback · Outside Linebacker · Safety · Left Tackle · Right Tackle · Inside Linebacker · Tight End · Every position · NFL career earnings

The fifty richest guards

Every position

By season

Elsewhere in American football