SALARYSPORT
0
NFL · OFFENCE · 69 CAREERS

Highest paid NFL left tackles

$2,336,810,665 paid to 69 left tackles, $33,866,821 a career, led by Trent Williams on $251,418,608.

Left Tackle is the 2nd best paid of the 18 positions the league has enough careers to rank, $33.9m a career against $23.0m for the average NFL career on this site. A left tackle is paid on the league's own split almost exactly: 51.6% of the money is the weekly paycheque against 52.9% across the NFL.

PER CAREER $33.9m
PAID IN ALL $2.34bn
CAREERS 69
STILL PLAYING 30
BASE SALARY 51.6%

The twenty richest left tackles

Money paid across a whole career

Trent Williams $251.4m

Trent Williams has been paid $87.6m more than any other left tackle the site holds, and the twenty here account for 85.2% of everything the position has earned.

Every left tackle ranked by career earnings

Money paid, and what is still contracted

69 careers

# Player Franchise Seasons Signing Contracted Career earnings
001 Trent Williams Oklahoma San Francisco 49ers 17 $86.6m $251,418,608$251.4m
002 Laremy Tunsil Mississippi Houston Texans 11 $50.3m $163,802,675$163.8m
003 Jake Matthews Texas A&M Atlanta Falcons 13 $36.7m $158,680,093$158.7m
004 Terron Armstead Arkansas-Pine Bluff Miami Dolphins 14 $30.9m $140,155,138$140.2m
005 Tyron Smith Southern California New York Jets 14 $22.4m $125,597,504$125.6m
006 Taylor Decker Ohio State Detroit Lions 12 $29.4m $21.0m $120,042,175$120.0m
007 Ronnie Stanley Notre Dame Baltimore Ravens 9 $38.6m $108,645,183$108.6m
008 Jordan Mailata Philadelphia Eagles 11 $30.8m $3.7m $105,317,561$105.3m
009 Dion Dawkins Temple Buffalo Bills 11 $20.8m $19.7m $103,164,078$103.2m
010 Andrew Thomas Georgia New York Giants 10 $36.1m $64.7m $99,320,588$99.3m
011 Tristan Wirfs Iowa Tampa Bay Buccaneers 10 $34.4m $80.6m $94,472,026$94.5m
012 Orlando Brown Jr. Oklahoma Cincinnati Bengals 9 $32.0m $87,581,945$87.6m
013 Garett Bolles Utah Denver Broncos 8 $26.2m $79,315,413$79.3m
014 Kolton Miller California-Los Angeles Las Vegas Raiders 8 $7.9m $78,551,582$78.6m
015 Cam Robinson Alabama Jacksonville Jaguars 8 $18.2m $69,659,323$69.7m
016 Christian Darrisaw Virginia Tech Minnesota Vikings 9 $25.1m $63.7m $69,632,212$69.6m
017 Rashawn Slater Northwestern Los Angeles Chargers 5 $9.5m $35,671,758$35.7m
018 Joseph Noteboom Texas Christian Los Angeles Rams 7 $10.8m $35,630,132$35.6m
019 Jedrick Wills Alabama Cleveland Browns 5 $11.9m $34,046,497$34.0m
020 Chukwuma Okorafor Western Michigan New England Patriots 7 $12.1m $29,345,364$29.3m
021 Paris Johnson Ohio State Arizona Cardinals 4 $17.4m $28,222,783$28.2m
022 Ikem Ekwonu North Carolina State Carolina Panthers 4 $17.2m $27,568,050$27.6m
023 JC Latham Alabama Tennessee Titans 4 $15.8m $4.3m $21,698,572$21.7m
024 Charles Cross Mississippi State Seattle Seahawks 4 $12.7m $21,383,626$21.4m
025 Patrick Mekari California Baltimore Ravens 6 $8k $17,998,663$18.0m
026 Olu Fashanu Penn State New York Jets 4 $11.7m $3.6m $16,918,795$16.9m
027 Cornelius Lucas Kansas State Washington Commanders 12 $4.0m $16,845,218$16.8m
028 Taliese Fuaga Oregon State New Orleans Saints 4 $9.4m $3.2m $14,187,499$14.2m
029 Troy Fautanu Washington Pittsburgh Steelers 4 $7.8m $2.8m $12,207,300$12.2m
030 Tyler Guyton Texas Christian Dallas Cowboys 4 $6.4m $2.6m $10,566,833$10.6m
031 Walker Little Stanford Jacksonville Jaguars 4 $2.9m $7,621,702$7.6m
032 Dan Moore Texas A&M Pittsburgh Steelers 4 $698k $7,227,976$7.2m
033 Geron Christian Louisville Los Angeles Rams 12 $1.6m $6,820,106$6.8m
034 Alaric Jackson Iowa Los Angeles Rams 4 $20k $6,627,222$6.6m
035 Chuma Edoga Southern California Dallas Cowboys 6 $1.2m $5,772,000$5.8m
036 Matt Peart Connecticut Denver Broncos 5 $1000k $5,622,064$5.6m
037 Joshua Ezeudu North Carolina New York Giants 4 $1.2m $5,485,524$5.5m
038 Wanya Morris Oklahoma Kansas City Chiefs 4 $904k $5,368,357$5.4m
039 Bernhard Raimann Central Michigan Indianapolis Colts 4 $1.0m $5,301,962$5.3m
040 Patrick Paul Houston Miami Dolphins 4 $1.8m $1.7m $5,174,192$5.2m
041 Blake Fisher Notre Dame Houston Texans 4 $1.6m $1.7m $4,901,052$4.9m
042 Fred Johnson Florida Philadelphia Eagles 6 $340k $4,825,043$4.8m
043 Kingsley Suamataia Brigham Young Kansas City Chiefs 4 $1.5m $1.7m $4,750,845$4.8m
044 Justin Skule Vanderbilt Tampa Bay Buccaneers 6 $333k $4,716,852$4.7m
045 Brandon Coleman Texas Christian Washington Commanders 4 $1.2m $1.6m $4,437,102$4.4m
046 Kiran Amegadjie Yale Chicago Bears 4 $1.1m $1.6m $4,312,823$4.3m
047 Delmar Glaze Maryland Las Vegas Raiders 4 $1.1m $1.6m $4,270,909$4.3m
048 Matt Goncalves Pittsburgh Indianapolis Colts 4 $1.1m $1.6m $4,247,805$4.2m
049 Justin Herron Wake Forest New Orleans Saints 5 $272k $4,011,422$4.0m
050 Vederian Lowe Illinois New England Patriots 4 $198k $3,857,872$3.9m
051 D'ante Smith East Carolina Cincinnati Bengals 4 $499k $3,856,838$3.9m
052 Braxton Jones Southern Utah Chicago Bears 4 $300k $3,827,885$3.8m
053 Jaylon Moore Western Michigan San Francisco 49ers 4 $323k $3,803,032$3.8m
054 Hakeem Adeniji Kansas Cleveland Browns 5 $294k $3,799,719$3.8m
055 Rasheed Walker Penn State Green Bay Packers 4 $81k $3,740,872$3.7m
056 Dan Skipper Arkansas Detroit Lions 11 $435k $3,681,366$3.7m
057 Landon Young Kentucky New Orleans Saints 4 $170k $3,649,780$3.6m
058 Stone Forsythe Florida Seattle Seahawks 4 $167k $3,646,624$3.6m
059 Giovanni Manu British Columbia Detroit Lions 4 $726k $1.2m $3,555,656$3.6m
060 Walter Rouse Oklahoma Minnesota Vikings 4 $227k $1.2m $3,056,592$3.1m
061 Travis Glover Georgia State Green Bay Packers 4 $171k $1.2m $3,001,380$3.0m
062 Tylan Grable Jacksonville State Buffalo Bills 4 $170k $1.2m $2,999,912$3.0m
063 Tyler McLellan Campbell Los Angeles Chargers 3 $10k $2,515,000$2.5m
064 Foster Sarell Stanford Los Angeles Chargers 6 $141k $2,501,985$2.5m
065 Ryan Van Demark Connecticut Buffalo Bills 3 $184k $2,056,000$2.1m
066 John Ojukwu Boise State Tennessee Titans 4 $40k $1,410,000$1.4m
067 Demontrey Jacobs South Florida New England Patriots 2 $15k $1,011,000
068 Kadeem Telfort Alabama-Birmingham Green Bay Packers 2 $9k $1,011,000
069 Silas Dzansi Virginia Tech Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2 $35k $686,000

The table holds every one of the 69 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 left tackle's money is paid

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

51.6% base salary

  • Base salary 51.6%
  • Signing bonus 27.0%
  • Restructured money 3.8%
  • Roster bonus 10.9%
  • Option bonus 5.7%
  • Workout bonus 0.9%
  • Incentives 0.2%
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 51.6% 52.9% $1,335,868,478$1.34bn
Signing bonus paid up front and guaranteed the moment the contract is signed 27.0% 27.6% $698,024,300$698.0m
Restructured money base salary converted to signing money so a deal fits under the cap 3.8% 6.3% $98,837,746$98.8m
Roster bonus paid for being on the roster on a named day of the year 10.9% 6.6% $281,509,808$281.5m
Option bonus paid to take up a season already written into the deal 5.7% 5.3% $146,656,965$146.7m
Workout bonus paid for turning up to the offseason programme 0.9% 0.7% $22,970,556$23.0m
Incentives paid for hitting a number 0.2% 0.5% $5,752,611$5.8m

A left tackle is paid on the league's own split almost exactly: 51.6% of the money is the weekly paycheque against 52.9% across the NFL. Base salary and signing bonus money are each ranked across the whole league on their own pages.

What the league pays left tackles each season

Every left tackle on a payroll that year, added together

Peak in 2024

2024 is the biggest year for left tackle pay on record at $411,060,749 across 70 players, which is $5.9m each. The whole 2024 payroll is here.

Left Tackle money by franchise

What the left tackles on each roster have earned in their careers

32 franchises

# Franchise Players Per player Career earnings
01 San Francisco 49ers 2 $127.6m $255,221,640$255.2m
02 Houston Texans 2 $84.4m $168,703,727$168.7m
03 Atlanta Falcons 1 $158.7m $158,680,093$158.7m
04 Miami Dolphins 2 $72.7m $145,329,330$145.3m
05 New York Jets 2 $71.3m $142,516,299$142.5m
06 Detroit Lions 3 $42.4m $127,279,197$127.3m
07 Baltimore Ravens 2 $63.3m $126,643,846$126.6m
08 Philadelphia Eagles 2 $55.1m $110,142,604$110.1m
09 Buffalo Bills 3 $36.1m $108,219,990$108.2m
10 New York Giants 2 $52.4m $104,806,112$104.8m
11 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3 $33.3m $99,874,878$99.9m
12 Cincinnati Bengals 2 $45.7m $91,438,783$91.4m
13 Denver Broncos 2 $42.5m $84,937,477$84.9m
14 Las Vegas Raiders 2 $41.4m $82,822,491$82.8m
15 Jacksonville Jaguars 2 $38.6m $77,281,025$77.3m
16 Minnesota Vikings 2 $36.3m $72,688,804$72.7m
17 Los Angeles Rams 3 $16.4m $49,077,460$49.1m
18 Los Angeles Chargers 3 $13.6m $40,688,743$40.7m
19 Cleveland Browns 2 $18.9m $37,846,216$37.8m
20 New England Patriots 3 $11.4m $34,214,236$34.2m
21 Arizona Cardinals 1 $28.2m $28,222,783$28.2m
22 Carolina Panthers 1 $27.6m $27,568,050$27.6m
23 Seattle Seahawks 2 $12.5m $25,030,250$25.0m
24 Tennessee Titans 2 $11.6m $23,108,572$23.1m
25 New Orleans Saints 3 $7.3m $21,848,701$21.8m
26 Washington Commanders 2 $10.6m $21,282,320$21.3m
27 Pittsburgh Steelers 2 $9.7m $19,435,276$19.4m
28 Dallas Cowboys 2 $8.2m $16,338,833$16.3m
29 Kansas City Chiefs 2 $5.1m $10,119,202$10.1m
30 Indianapolis Colts 2 $4.8m $9,549,767$9.5m
31 Chicago Bears 2 $4.1m $8,140,708$8.1m
32 Green Bay Packers 3 $2.6m $7,753,252$7.8m

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

Where a left tackle is drafted

Career earnings by the round a player was taken in

50 with a round on record

A first-round left tackle has earned $79.7m a career against $54.5m for one taken in round 7. The whole draft is ranked here.

Which colleges produce the richest left tackles

Schools with three or more in the position

3 colleges

Oklahoma $347m
Alabama $125m
Texas Christian $51m

Oklahoma has put 4 left tackles into the league, worth $347,425,502 between them. Every college is ranked across all positions here.

Frequently asked questions

Who is the highest paid NFL left tackle of all time?

Trent Williams, $251,418,608, a first-round pick in 2010, 4th overall. Laremy Tunsil is second on $163,802,675.

How much does an NFL left tackle earn over a career?

$33,866,821 on average across the 69 careers here, and 2nd of 18 positions on money per career. The figure is money actually paid rather than the headline value of a contract.

Is a left tackle's money guaranteed?

27.0% of it arrives as a signing bonus, which is the part that cannot be taken back, against 27.6% across the league. The other 51.6% is base salary and it stops the day a player is released.

Which franchise has paid the most at left tackle?

San Francisco 49ers, $255,221,640 across the 2 players on its books, counted as everything those careers have earned anywhere.

How many NFL left tackles are still playing?

30 of the 69 here were on a roster in 2026, with $286,287,435 written into contracts for seasons not yet played.

Where to next

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

Cornerback · Outside Linebacker · Safety · Guard · Right Tackle · Inside Linebacker · Tight End · Running Back · Every position · NFL career earnings