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NFL · DEFENCE · 115 CAREERS

Highest paid NFL inside linebackers

$1,985,491,948 paid to 115 inside linebackers, $17,265,147 a career, led by Roquan Smith on $108,626,696.

Inside Linebacker is the 11th best paid of the 18 positions the league has enough careers to rank, $17.3m 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 inside linebacker's money is the weekly paycheque than the league average: 57.9% against 52.9%. That is the mark of a position a club can walk away from in March.

PER CAREER $17.3m
PAID IN ALL $1.99bn
CAREERS 115
STILL PLAYING 35
BASE SALARY 57.9%

The twenty richest inside linebackers

Money paid across a whole career

Roquan Smith $108.6m

Roquan Smith $109m C.J. Mosley $103m Bobby Wagner $102m Fred Warner $102m Tremaine Edmunds $98m Lavonte David $94m Demario Davis $79m Foyesade Oluokun $71m Shaq Thompson $69m Eric Kendricks $56m Patrick Queen $53m Jordan Hicks $47m Bobby Okereke $46m Devin White $45m Azeez Al-Shaair $45m Jerome Baker $39m Jordyn Brooks $38m Zaire Franklin $35m Josey Jewell $35m Kenneth Murray $29m

Roquan Smith has been paid $5.7m more than any other inside linebacker the site holds, and the twenty here account for 65.2% of everything the position has earned.

Every inside linebacker ranked by career earnings

Money paid, and what is still contracted

115 careers

# Player Franchise Seasons Signing Contracted Career earnings
001 Roquan Smith Georgia Baltimore Ravens 10 $34.0m $20.0m $108,626,696$108.6m
002 C.J. Mosley Alabama New York Jets 12 $20.0m $102,906,002$102.9m
003 Bobby Wagner Utah State Washington Commanders 13 $34.8m $102,008,441$102.0m
004 Fred Warner Brigham Young San Francisco 49ers 9 $13.3m $101,576,901$101.6m
005 Tremaine Edmunds Virginia Tech Chicago Bears 9 $17.0m $97,670,678$97.7m
006 Lavonte David Nebraska Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13 $20.2m $94,447,757$94.4m
007 Demario Davis Arkansas State New Orleans Saints 14 $30.6m $78,936,971$78.9m
008 Foyesade Oluokun Yale Jacksonville Jaguars 10 $20.6m $9.0m $70,896,931$70.9m
009 Shaq Thompson Washington Carolina Panthers 10 $26.0m $69,001,091$69.0m
010 Eric Kendricks California-Los Angeles Dallas Cowboys 10 $19.0m $55,531,539$55.5m
011 Patrick Queen Louisiana State Pittsburgh Steelers 7 $18.0m $53,342,812$53.3m
012 Jordan Hicks Texas Cleveland Browns 11 $18.9m $47,030,893$47.0m
013 Bobby Okereke Stanford New York Giants 8 $12.9m $45,729,405$45.7m
014 Devin White Louisiana State Philadelphia Eagles 6 $20.3m $45,486,814$45.5m
015 Azeez Al-Shaair Florida Atlantic Houston Texans 8 $14.2m $45,021,000$45.0m
016 Jerome Baker Ohio State Seattle Seahawks 7 $17.5m $39,416,305$39.4m
017 Jordyn Brooks Texas Tech Miami Dolphins 7 $14.8m $38,485,608$38.5m
018 Zaire Franklin Syracuse Indianapolis Colts 10 $5.1m $9.0m $35,262,297$35.3m
019 Josey Jewell Iowa Carolina Panthers 9 $12.2m $35,092,811$35.1m
020 Kenneth Murray Oklahoma Tennessee Titans 6 $12.0m $28,687,166$28.7m
021 Blake Cashman Minnesota Minnesota Vikings 8 $8.2m $27,204,673$27.2m
022 Germaine Pratt North Carolina State Cincinnati Bengals 7 $8.1m $26,698,882$26.7m
023 Alex Anzalone Florida Detroit Lions 9 $6.4m $25,805,527$25.8m
024 Kaden Elliss Idaho Atlanta Falcons 7 $5.3m $24,689,265$24.7m
025 Ja'whaun Bentley Purdue New England Patriots 8 $7.4m $24,251,098$24.3m
026 Denzel Perryman Miami (FL) Los Angeles Chargers 11 $8.8m $22,647,406$22.6m
027 Isaiah Simmons Clemson New York Giants 5 $12.9m $21,723,394$21.7m
028 Alex Singleton Montana State Denver Broncos 10 $4.2m $21,054,498$21.1m
029 Cole Holcomb North Carolina Pittsburgh Steelers 7 $5.2m $19,894,884$19.9m
030 Kyzir White West Virginia Arizona Cardinals 7 $5.6m $17,972,227$18.0m
031 Elandon Roberts Houston Pittsburgh Steelers 9 $5.3m $17,873,426$17.9m
032 Tyler Matakevich Temple Pittsburgh Steelers 9 $3.6m $15,759,660$15.8m
033 Sione Takitaki Brigham Young New England Patriots 7 $3.0m $14,059,554$14.1m
034 Anthony Walker Jr. Northwestern Miami Dolphins 8 $5.3m $13,945,259$13.9m
035 Kamu Grugier-Hill Eastern Illinois Minnesota Vikings 9 $5.4m $13,896,679$13.9m
036 Neville Hewitt Marshall Houston Texans 10 $3.1m $13,233,057$13.2m
037 David Long West Virginia Miami Dolphins 6 $4.6m $13,154,716$13.2m
038 Devin Lloyd Utah Jacksonville Jaguars 4 $6.6m $12,936,606$12.9m
039 Duke Riley Louisiana State Miami Dolphins 8 $3.8m $12,450,575$12.5m
040 Eric Wilson Cincinnati Green Bay Packers 10 $2.0m $11,350,625$11.4m
041 Oren Burks Vanderbilt Philadelphia Eagles 7 $2.6m $9,924,101$9.9m
042 Cody Barton Utah Denver Broncos 6 $2.9m $9,869,124$9.9m
043 Chris Board North Dakota State Baltimore Ravens 7 $3.0m $9,822,817$9.8m
044 Raekwon McMillan Ohio State New England Patriots 8 $1.9m $9,464,288$9.5m
045 Tyrel Dodson Texas A&M Seattle Seahawks 6 $2.0m $8,769,427$8.8m
046 Nick Bolton Missouri Kansas City Chiefs 4 $1.6m $7,494,483$7.5m
047 Malik Harrison Ohio State Baltimore Ravens 5 $1000k $7,318,692$7.3m
048 Divine Deablo Virginia Tech Las Vegas Raiders 4 $982k $6,757,628$6.8m
049 Edgerrin Cooper Texas A&M Green Bay Packers 4 $3.1m $2.0m $6,631,340$6.6m
050 Ernest Jones South Carolina Tennessee Titans 4 $841k $6,589,236$6.6m
051 Matthew Adams Houston New York Giants 7 $422k $6,516,232$6.5m
052 Troy Andersen Montana State Atlanta Falcons 4 $1.6m $6,194,739$6.2m
053 Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles Arizona San Francisco 49ers 6 $717k $6,176,280$6.2m
054 Troy Dye Oregon Los Angeles Chargers 5 $1.3m $5,859,393$5.9m
055 Troy Reeder Delaware Los Angeles Rams 7 $137k $5,768,582$5.8m
056 Drew Sanders Arkansas Denver Broncos 4 $1.2m $5,734,728$5.7m
057 Brian Asamoah Oklahoma Minnesota Vikings 4 $1.2m $5,486,849$5.5m
058 Chad Muma Wyoming Jacksonville Jaguars 4 $1.1m $5,426,109$5.4m
059 Daiyan Henley Washington State Los Angeles Chargers 4 $942k $5,420,421$5.4m
060 Trenton Simpson Clemson Baltimore Ravens 4 $931k $5,408,845$5.4m
061 Khaleke Hudson Michigan Cleveland Browns 6 $1.0m $5,370,066$5.4m
062 Jon Rhattigan Army Carolina Panthers 5 $577k $5,327,335$5.3m
063 Nakobe Dean Georgia Philadelphia Eagles 4 $965k $5,204,640$5.2m
064 Terrel Bernard Baylor Buffalo Bills 4 $913k $5,132,864$5.1m
065 Channing Tindall Georgia Miami Dolphins 4 $849k $5,044,908$5.0m
066 Cameron Brown Penn State Miami Dolphins 5 $282k $4,691,420$4.7m
067 Justin Strnad Wake Forest Denver Broncos 5 $488k $4,507,772$4.5m
068 Junior Colson Michigan Los Angeles Chargers 4 $1.2m $1.6m $4,410,141$4.4m
069 Trevin Wallace Kentucky Carolina Panthers 4 $1.2m $1.6m $4,352,130$4.4m
070 SirVocea Dennis Pittsburgh Tampa Bay Buccaneers 4 $317k $4,157,324$4.2m
071 Ventrell Miller Florida Jacksonville Jaguars 4 $737k $4,156,936$4.2m
072 Kristian Welch Iowa Denver Broncos 5 $87k $4,058,734$4.1m
073 Payton Wilson North Carolina State Pittsburgh Steelers 4 $890k $1.6m $4,038,178$4.0m
074 Micah McFadden Indiana New York Giants 4 $356k $4,015,708$4.0m
075 Amari Burney Florida Las Vegas Raiders 4 $165k $4,005,116$4.0m
076 Malcolm Rodríguez Oklahoma State Detroit Lions 4 $188k $3,847,920$3.8m
077 Caleb Johnson Houston Baptist Jacksonville Jaguars 4 $257k $3,782,000$3.8m
078 Mark Robinson Mississippi Pittsburgh Steelers 4 $112k $3,772,356$3.8m
079 Chazz Surratt North Carolina New York Jets 4 $1.1m $3,729,340$3.7m
080 Nick Niemann Iowa Los Angeles Chargers 4 $214k $3,694,004$3.7m
081 Joe Bachie Michigan State Cincinnati Bengals 5 $165k $3,660,863$3.7m
082 Baylon Spector Clemson Buffalo Bills 4 $104k $3,654,002$3.7m
083 Tyrice Knight Texas El-Paso Seattle Seahawks 4 $773k $1.2m $3,602,560$3.6m
084 D'Marco Jackson Appalachian State New Orleans Saints 4 $317k $3,581,916$3.6m
085 K.J. Britt Auburn Tampa Bay Buccaneers 4 $266k $3,520,185$3.5m
086 Christian Rozeboom South Dakota State Los Angeles Rams 5 $722k $3,408,866$3.4m
087 Cedric Gray North Carolina Tennessee Titans 4 $834k $1.2m $3,339,492$3.3m
088 JD Bertrand Notre Dame Atlanta Falcons 4 $350k $1.2m $3,180,024$3.2m
089 Tommy Eichenberg Ohio State Las Vegas Raiders 4 $338k $1.2m $3,167,712$3.2m
090 Jeremiah Trotter Jr. Clemson Philadelphia Eagles 4 $328k $1.2m $3,158,468$3.2m
091 Nathan Landman Colorado Atlanta Falcons 3 $8k $3,125,444$3.1m
092 Jaylan Ford Texas New Orleans Saints 4 $254k $1.2m $3,084,276$3.1m
093 Darius Muasau California-Los Angeles New York Giants 4 $201k $1.2m $3,030,912$3.0m
094 Jordan Magee Temple Washington Commanders 4 $371k $1.2m $2,876,228$2.9m
095 Elias Neal Marshall Los Angeles Rams 3 $9k $2,839,000$2.8m
096 Omar Speights Louisiana State Los Angeles Rams 3 $9k $2,839,000$2.8m
097 Joe Andreessen Buffalo Buffalo Bills 3 $2k $2,836,364$2.8m
098 Garret Wallow Texas Christian Tennessee Titans 7 $923k $2,754,994$2.8m
099 Ivan Pace Cincinnati Minnesota Vikings 3 $20k $2,715,000$2.7m
100 Drake Thomas North Carolina State Seattle Seahawks 3 $15k $2,545,003$2.5m
101 Claudin Cherelus Alcorn State Carolina Panthers 3 $5k $2,528,336$2.5m
102 Ralen Goforth Washington Green Bay Packers 3 $10k $2,515,000$2.5m
103 Deion Jennings Rutgers Baltimore Ravens 3 $2k $2,507,000$2.5m
104 Jake Hummel Iowa State Los Angeles Rams 3 $5k $2,412,224$2.4m
105 Curtis Jacobs Penn State New England Patriots 3 $50k $2,310,000$2.3m
106 Trevor Nowaske Saginaw Valley State Detroit Lions 3 $96k $2,278,336$2.3m
107 Jack Gibbens Minnesota Tennessee Titans 3 $1,000 $2,050,835$2.1m
108 Segun Olubi San Diego State Indianapolis Colts 3 $3k $1,872,000$1.9m
109 Chance Campbell Mississippi Tennessee Titans 3 $374k $1,860,699$1.9m
110 Milo Eifler Illinois Atlanta Falcons 7 $60k $1,668,816$1.7m
111 Josh Ross Michigan Baltimore Ravens 3 $167k $1,601,556$1.6m
112 Kana’i Mauga Southern California Las Vegas Raiders 4 $20k $1,535,333$1.5m
113 J.J. Russell Memphis Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3 $10k $1,450,832$1.5m
114 Ben VanSumeren Michigan State Philadelphia Eagles 2 $30k $1,165,002
115 Otis Reese Mississippi Tennessee Titans 2 $5k $1,123,335

The table holds every one of the 115 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 inside linebacker's money is paid

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

57.9% base salary

  • Base salary 57.9%
  • Signing bonus 26.9%
  • Restructured money 5.9%
  • Roster bonus 6.0%
  • Option bonus 1.8%
  • Workout bonus 0.8%
  • Incentives 0.7%
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 57.9% 52.9% $1,169,804,391$1.17bn
Signing bonus paid up front and guaranteed the moment the contract is signed 26.9% 27.6% $544,396,487$544.4m
Restructured money base salary converted to signing money so a deal fits under the cap 5.9% 6.3% $118,379,232$118.4m
Roster bonus paid for being on the roster on a named day of the year 6.0% 6.6% $121,040,689$121.0m
Option bonus paid to take up a season already written into the deal 1.8% 5.3% $35,471,000$35.5m
Workout bonus paid for turning up to the offseason programme 0.8% 0.7% $16,949,126$16.9m
Incentives paid for hitting a number 0.7% 0.5% $14,603,294$14.6m

More of a inside linebacker's money is the weekly paycheque than the league average: 57.9% 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 inside linebackers each season

Every inside linebacker on a payroll that year, added together

Peak in 2024

2024 is the biggest year for inside linebacker pay on record at $369,854,650 across 116 players, which is $3.2m each. The whole 2024 payroll is here.

Inside Linebacker money by franchise

What the inside linebackers on each roster have earned in their careers

32 franchises

# Franchise Players Per player Career earnings
01 Baltimore Ravens 6 $22.5m $135,285,606$135.3m
02 Carolina Panthers 5 $23.3m $116,301,703$116.3m
03 Pittsburgh Steelers 6 $19.1m $114,681,316$114.7m
04 San Francisco 49ers 2 $53.9m $107,753,181$107.8m
05 New York Jets 2 $53.3m $106,635,342$106.6m
06 Washington Commanders 2 $52.4m $104,884,669$104.9m
07 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 4 $25.9m $103,576,098$103.6m
08 Chicago Bears 1 $97.7m $97,670,678$97.7m
09 Jacksonville Jaguars 5 $19.4m $97,198,582$97.2m
10 Miami Dolphins 6 $14.6m $87,772,486$87.8m
11 New Orleans Saints 3 $28.5m $85,603,163$85.6m
12 New York Giants 5 $16.2m $81,015,651$81.0m
13 Philadelphia Eagles 5 $13.0m $64,939,025$64.9m
14 Houston Texans 2 $29.1m $58,254,057$58.3m
15 Dallas Cowboys 1 $55.5m $55,531,539$55.5m
16 Seattle Seahawks 4 $13.6m $54,333,295$54.3m
17 Cleveland Browns 2 $26.2m $52,400,959$52.4m
18 New England Patriots 4 $12.5m $50,084,940$50.1m
19 Minnesota Vikings 4 $12.3m $49,303,201$49.3m
20 Tennessee Titans 7 $6.6m $46,405,757$46.4m
21 Denver Broncos 5 $9.0m $45,224,856$45.2m
22 Los Angeles Chargers 5 $8.4m $42,031,365$42.0m
23 Atlanta Falcons 5 $7.8m $38,858,288$38.9m
24 Indianapolis Colts 2 $18.6m $37,134,297$37.1m
25 Detroit Lions 3 $10.6m $31,931,783$31.9m
26 Cincinnati Bengals 2 $15.2m $30,359,745$30.4m
27 Green Bay Packers 3 $6.8m $20,496,965$20.5m
28 Arizona Cardinals 1 $18.0m $17,972,227$18.0m
29 Los Angeles Rams 5 $3.5m $17,267,672$17.3m
30 Las Vegas Raiders 4 $3.9m $15,465,789$15.5m
31 Buffalo Bills 3 $3.9m $11,623,230$11.6m
32 Kansas City Chiefs 1 $7.5m $7,494,483$7.5m

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

Where a inside linebacker is drafted

Career earnings by the round a player was taken in

75 with a round on record

Round 1 $58m Round 2 $48m Round 3 $19m Round 4 $14m Round 5 $7.0m Round 6 $16m Round 7 $15m

A first-round inside linebacker has earned $57.9m a career against $14.9m for one taken in round 7. The whole draft is ranked here.

Which colleges produce the richest inside linebackers

Schools with three or more in the position

10 colleges

Georgia $119m
Louisiana State $114m
Ohio State $59m
Iowa $43m
Florida $34m
Clemson $34m
North Carolina State $33m
North Carolina $27m
Michigan $11m
Mississippi $6.8m

Georgia has put 3 inside linebackers into the league, worth $118,876,244 between them. Every college is ranked across all positions here.

Frequently asked questions

Who is the highest paid NFL inside linebacker of all time?

Roquan Smith, $108,626,696, a first-round pick in 2018, 8th overall. C.J. Mosley is second on $102,906,002.

How much does an NFL inside linebacker earn over a career?

$17,265,147 on average across the 115 careers here, and 11th of 18 positions on money per career. The figure is money actually paid rather than the headline value of a contract.

Is a inside linebacker's money guaranteed?

26.9% of it arrives as a signing bonus, which is the part that cannot be taken back, against 27.6% across the league. The other 57.9% is base salary and it stops the day a player is released.

Which franchise has paid the most at inside linebacker?

Baltimore Ravens, $135,285,606 across the 6 players on its books, counted as everything those careers have earned anywhere.

How many NFL inside linebackers are still playing?

35 of the 115 here were on a roster in 2026, with $54,275,285 written into contracts for seasons not yet played.

Where to next

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

Safety · Guard · Left Tackle · Right Tackle · Tight End · Running Back · Center · Kicker · Every position · NFL career earnings

The fifty richest inside linebackers

Every position

By season

Elsewhere in American football