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NFL · DEFENCE · 156 CAREERS

Highest paid NFL safetys

$2,764,476,820 paid to 156 safetys, $17,721,005 a career, led by Harrison Smith on $122,735,243.

Safety is the 10th best paid of the 18 positions the league has enough careers to rank, $17.7m 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 safety's money is the weekly paycheque than the league average: 58.1% against 52.9%. That is the mark of a position a club can walk away from in March.

PER CAREER $17.7m
PAID IN ALL $2.76bn
CAREERS 156
STILL PLAYING 57
BASE SALARY 58.1%

The twenty richest safetys

Money paid across a whole career

Harrison Smith $122.7m

Harrison Smith $123m Minkah Fitzpatrick $110m Tyrann Mathieu $105m Derwin James $98m Marcus Williams $88m Jessie Bates III $84m Kevin Byard $81m Antoine Winfield Jr. $73m Justin Simmons $70m Jamal Adams $70m Budda Baker $68m Jimmie Ward $65m Xavier McKinney $58m Kyle Dugger $54m Quandre Diggs $53m Eddie Jackson $51m Tashaun Gipson $46m Jabrill Peppers $46m Jordan Poyer $46m Grant Delpit $43m

Harrison Smith has been paid $12.6m more than any other safety the site holds, and the twenty here account for 51.9% of everything the position has earned.

Every safety ranked by career earnings

Money paid, and what is still contracted

156 careers

# Player Franchise Seasons Signing Contracted Career earnings
001 Harrison Smith Notre Dame Minnesota Vikings 15 $30.2m $122,735,243$122.7m
002 Minkah Fitzpatrick Alabama Pittsburgh Steelers 9 $28.6m $110,110,823$110.1m
003 Tyrann Mathieu Louisiana State New Orleans Saints 13 $49.6m $104,844,901$104.8m
004 Derwin James Florida State Los Angeles Chargers 9 $27.6m $97,972,956$98.0m
005 Marcus Williams Utah Baltimore Ravens 10 $17.6m $88,474,299$88.5m
006 Jessie Bates III Wake Forest Atlanta Falcons 9 $19.7m $83,898,248$83.9m
007 Kevin Byard Middle Tennessee State Chicago Bears 10 $19.9m $80,534,402$80.5m
008 Antoine Winfield Jr. Minnesota Tampa Bay Buccaneers 8 $22.9m $19.6m $73,192,750$73.2m
009 Justin Simmons Boston College Atlanta Falcons 9 $20.4m $70,202,947$70.2m
010 Jamal Adams Louisiana State Tennessee Titans 8 $34.5m $70,081,238$70.1m
011 Budda Baker Washington Arizona Cardinals 8 $13.1m $68,199,768$68.2m
012 Jimmie Ward Northern Illinois Houston Texans 12 $21.7m $65,497,558$65.5m
013 Xavier McKinney Alabama Green Bay Packers 8 $26.7m $16.8m $58,491,041$58.5m
014 Kyle Dugger Lenoir-Rhyne New England Patriots 8 $21.6m $13.5m $54,049,957$54.0m
015 Quandre Diggs Texas Tennessee Titans 10 $20.0m $52,949,796$52.9m
016 Eddie Jackson Alabama Baltimore Ravens 8 $12.9m $51,029,175$51.0m
017 Tashaun Gipson Wyoming Jacksonville Jaguars 14 $8.8m $46,424,658$46.4m
018 Jabrill Peppers Michigan New England Patriots 11 $15.1m $6.8m $46,256,988$46.3m
019 Jordan Poyer Oregon State Miami Dolphins 12 $11.2m $45,970,136$46.0m
020 Grant Delpit Louisiana State Cleveland Browns 7 $9.0m $43,465,062$43.5m
021 Rayshawn Jenkins Miami (FL) Seattle Seahawks 9 $13.7m $43,090,072$43.1m
022 Darnell Savage Maryland Jacksonville Jaguars 8 $12.1m $42,368,120$42.4m
023 Malik Hooker Ohio State Dallas Cowboys 10 $17.0m $41,403,383$41.4m
024 Jalen Thompson Washington State Arizona Cardinals 7 $10.5m $41,376,516$41.4m
025 Julian Love Notre Dame Seattle Seahawks 9 $16.1m $11.0m $39,320,860$39.3m
026 Chauncey Gardner-Johnson Florida Philadelphia Eagles 8 $10.7m $38,844,100$38.8m
027 Rodney McLeod Virginia Cleveland Browns 13 $12.0m $37,858,539$37.9m
028 Justin Reid Stanford Kansas City Chiefs 7 $11.5m $37,719,449$37.7m
029 Vonn Bell Ohio State Cincinnati Bengals 9 $15.9m $35,320,168$35.3m
030 Amani Hooker Iowa Tennessee Titans 7 $10.7m $35,211,124$35.2m
031 Marcus Maye Florida Miami Dolphins 8 $9.1m $33,293,542$33.3m
032 John Johnson Boston College Los Angeles Rams 8 $12.9m $31,339,761$31.3m
033 Juan Thornhill Virginia Cleveland Browns 7 $7.3m $27,610,440$27.6m
034 Brandon Jones Texas Denver Broncos 7 $6.6m $26,646,392$26.6m
035 Jordan Whitehead Pittsburgh Tampa Bay Buccaneers 8 $10.8m $26,635,553$26.6m
036 Eric Murray Minnesota Houston Texans 9 $6.0m $25,877,268$25.9m
037 Xavier Woods Louisiana Tech Carolina Panthers 8 $5.7m $21,326,756$21.3m
038 Chuck Clark Virginia Tech New York Jets 8 $6.4m $21,221,267$21.2m
039 Taylor Rapp Washington Buffalo Bills 8 $4.1m $18,641,822$18.6m
040 George Odum Central Arkansas San Francisco 49ers 9 $4.5m $18,114,726$18.1m
041 Geno Stone Iowa Cincinnati Bengals 6 $3.8m $18,076,982$18.1m
042 Donovan Wilson Texas A&M Dallas Cowboys 7 $6.7m $17,544,325$17.5m
043 Miles Killebrew Southern Utah Pittsburgh Steelers 10 $3.9m $16,651,213$16.7m
044 Terrell Edmunds Virginia Tech Pittsburgh Steelers 9 $6.6m $16,601,463$16.6m
045 Kyle Hamilton Notre Dame Baltimore Ravens 4 $9.0m $16,255,087$16.3m
046 Marcus Epps Wyoming Las Vegas Raiders 6 $2.8m $15,800,556$15.8m
047 J.T. Gray Mississippi State New Orleans Saints 8 $3.4m $15,207,350$15.2m
048 Kamren Curl Arkansas Los Angeles Rams 6 $113k $14,390,328$14.4m
049 Andrew Wingard Wyoming Jacksonville Jaguars 7 $3.0m $14,307,269$14.3m
050 Alohi Gilman Notre Dame Los Angeles Chargers 6 $4.7m $13,737,384$13.7m
051 Deshon Elliott Texas Pittsburgh Steelers 8 $2.5m $13,506,723$13.5m
052 M.J. Stewart North Carolina Houston Texans 7 $3.8m $13,347,179$13.3m
053 Damontae Kazee San Diego State Pittsburgh Steelers 8 $2.3m $12,562,076$12.6m
054 Daxton Hill Michigan Cincinnati Bengals 4 $5.7m $11,667,013$11.7m
055 Jeremy Chinn Southern Illinois Washington Commanders 5 $3.7m $11,453,655$11.5m
056 Siran Neal Jacksonville State Miami Dolphins 7 $2.2m $11,427,676$11.4m
057 Josh Metellus Michigan Minnesota Vikings 6 $3.2m $11,385,602$11.4m
058 Mike Edwards Kentucky Buffalo Bills 6 $3.2m $11,040,514$11.0m
059 P.J. Locke Texas Denver Broncos 7 $2.3m $10,764,359$10.8m
060 Jeremy Reaves South Alabama Washington Commanders 9 $1.7m $10,573,899$10.6m
061 Julian Blackmon Utah Indianapolis Colts 5 $2.8m $10,281,876$10.3m
062 Jevon Holland Oregon Miami Dolphins 4 $3.7m $10,233,809$10.2m
063 Richie Grant Central Florida Atlanta Falcons 4 $3.4m $10,090,856$10.1m
064 Will Harris Boston College New Orleans Saints 6 $1.3m $9,701,418$9.7m
065 Nick Scott Penn State Carolina Panthers 6 $3.2m $9,676,312$9.7m
066 Trevon Moehrig Texas Christian Las Vegas Raiders 4 $3.1m $9,524,416$9.5m
067 Ashtyn Davis California New York Jets 5 $1.3m $9,072,919$9.1m
068 Jalen Pitre Baylor Houston Texans 4 $3.7m $8,954,440$9.0m
069 Jordan Fuller Ohio State Carolina Panthers 5 $2.1m $8,770,689$8.8m
070 Talanoa Hufanga Southern California San Francisco 49ers 4 $240k $8,259,078$8.3m
071 Brian Branch Alabama Detroit Lions 4 $2.8m $8,021,728$8.0m
072 Andre Cisco Syracuse Jacksonville Jaguars 4 $1.2m $7,742,207$7.7m
073 Daniel Thomas Auburn Jacksonville Jaguars 6 $1.2m $7,688,613$7.7m
074 Sam Franklin Temple Carolina Panthers 5 $1.5m $7,603,651$7.6m
075 Jonathan Owens Missouri Western State Chicago Bears 8 $1.1m $7,559,489$7.6m
076 Jaquan Brisker Penn State Chicago Bears 4 $2.5m $7,355,540$7.4m
077 Camryn Bynum California Minnesota Vikings 4 $718k $6,953,473$7.0m
078 Tyler Nubin Minnesota New York Giants 4 $2.8m $1.9m $6,266,711$6.3m
079 Reed Blankenship Middle Tennessee State Philadelphia Eagles 4 $1.9m $6,140,000$6.1m
080 Sydney Brown Illinois Philadelphia Eagles 4 $1.2m $5,744,442$5.7m
081 Darrick Forrest Cincinnati Washington Commanders 4 $311k $5,743,184$5.7m
082 Jaylinn Hawkins California New England Patriots 5 $1.5m $5,718,820$5.7m
083 K'Von Wallace Clemson Seattle Seahawks 6 $911k $5,656,376$5.7m
084 Marte Mapu Sacramento State New England Patriots 4 $1.0m $5,563,706$5.6m
085 Jordan Battle Alabama Cincinnati Bengals 4 $873k $5,325,017$5.3m
086 Nick Cross Maryland Indianapolis Colts 4 $864k $5,065,638$5.1m
087 Kerby Joseph Illinois Detroit Lions 4 $849k $5,044,902$5.0m
088 Javon Bullard Georgia Green Bay Packers 4 $1.7m $1.7m $4,996,660$5.0m
089 Ji'Ayir Brown Penn State San Francisco 49ers 4 $924k $4,944,488$4.9m
090 Cole Bishop Utah Buffalo Bills 4 $1.6m $1.7m $4,860,088$4.9m
091 Percy Butler Louisiana-Lafayette Washington Commanders 4 $789k $4,449,016$4.4m
092 Dane Belton Iowa New York Giants 4 $784k $4,444,488$4.4m
093 Elijah Campbell Northern Iowa Miami Dolphins 5 $203k $4,333,529$4.3m
094 Damar Hamlin Pittsburgh Buffalo Bills 4 $160k $4,292,946$4.3m
095 Calen Bullock Southern California Houston Texans 4 $1.1m $1.6m $4,263,317$4.3m
096 Jammie Robinson Florida State Carolina Panthers 4 $330k $4,169,532$4.2m
097 Jordan Howden Minnesota New Orleans Saints 4 $327k $4,166,728$4.2m
098 Antonio Johnson Texas A&M Jacksonville Jaguars 4 $302k $4,141,832$4.1m
099 Tykee Smith Georgia Tampa Bay Buccaneers 4 $956k $1.6m $4,116,515$4.1m
100 Christopher Smith II Georgia Las Vegas Raiders 4 $245k $4,084,976$4.1m
101 Josh Hayes Kansas State Tampa Bay Buccaneers 4 $204k $4,044,372$4.0m
102 Kamren Kinchens Miami Los Angeles Rams 4 $890k $1.6m $4,038,178$4.0m
103 JL Skinner Boise State Denver Broncos 4 $196k $4,036,220$4.0m
104 DeMarcco Hellams Alabama Atlanta Falcons 4 $106k $3,993,899$4.0m
105 Delarrin Turner-Yell Oklahoma Denver Broncos 4 $333k $3,971,105$4.0m
106 Rodney Thomas Yale Indianapolis Colts 4 $95k $3,755,384$3.8m
107 Jamien Sherwood Auburn New York Jets 4 $355k $3,685,134$3.7m
108 Dadrion Taylor-Demerson Texas Tech Arizona Cardinals 4 $847k $1.2m $3,680,547$3.7m
109 Quentin Lake California-Los Angeles Los Angeles Rams 4 $132k $3,654,520$3.7m
110 Evan Williams Oregon Green Bay Packers 4 $803k $1.2m $3,632,880$3.6m
111 Malik Mustapha Wake Forest San Francisco 49ers 4 $739k $1.2m $3,568,936$3.6m
112 Jerrick Reed II New Mexico Seattle Seahawks 4 $175k $3,478,136$3.5m
113 Tycen Anderson Toledo Cincinnati Bengals 4 $306k $3,404,417$3.4m
114 Daniel Scott California Indianapolis Colts 4 $308k $3,402,836$3.4m
115 Jaden Hicks Washington State Kansas City Chiefs 4 $529k $1.2m $3,358,708$3.4m
116 Jaylon Carlies Missouri Indianapolis Colts 4 $336k $1.2m $3,166,240$3.2m
117 Dominique Hampton Washington Washington Commanders 4 $313k $1.2m $3,143,284$3.1m
118 Kitan Oladapo Oregon State Green Bay Packers 4 $254k $1.2m $3,084,276$3.1m
119 Daijahn Anthony Mississippi Cincinnati Bengals 4 $118k $1.9m $2,947,784$2.9m
120 James Williams Miami (FL) Tennessee Titans 4 $89k $1.2m $2,919,492$2.9m
121 Sanoussi Kane Purdue Baltimore Ravens 4 $83k $1.2m $2,912,932$2.9m
122 Beau Brade Maryland Baltimore Ravens 3 $25k $2,855,000$2.9m
123 Tyler Owens Texas Tech Washington Commanders 3 $20k $2,850,000$2.8m
124 Jaylen McCollough Tennessee Los Angeles Rams 3 $15k $2,845,000$2.8m
125 Dell Pettus Troy New England Patriots 3 $9k $2,839,000$2.8m
126 Loren Strickland Ball State Detroit Lions 3 $1k $2,831,500$2.8m
127 Julius Wood East Carolina Tennessee Titans 3 $15k $2,830,000$2.8m
128 Ronnie Hickman Ohio State Cleveland Browns 3 $20k $2,715,000$2.7m
129 Kaevon Merriweather Iowa Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3 $15k $2,710,000$2.7m
130 Christian Izien Rutgers Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3 $10k $2,705,000$2.7m
131 Kahlef Hailassie Western Kentucky Cleveland Browns 3 $10k $2,695,000$2.7m
132 Patrick McMorris San Diego State Miami Dolphins 4 $180k $1.2m $2,684,764$2.7m
133 Trey Taylor Air Force Las Vegas Raiders 4 $119k $1.2m $2,623,728$2.6m
134 Brenden Schooler Texas New England Patriots 3 $15k $2,575,000$2.6m
135 Markquese Bell Florida A&M Dallas Cowboys 3 $15k $2,575,000$2.6m
136 Tony Adams Illinois New York Jets 3 $10k $2,570,000$2.6m
137 D'Anthony Bell West Florida Cleveland Browns 3 $8k $2,567,500$2.6m
138 Jaylon Jones Mississippi Chicago Bears 3 $2k $2,562,500$2.6m
139 Joey Blount Virginia Arizona Cardinals 3 $37k $2,536,721$2.5m
140 Chase Williams San Jose State Cleveland Browns 3 $0 $2,505,000$2.5m
141 Trevor Denbow Southern Methodist Indianapolis Colts 3 $15k $2,452,782$2.5m
142 Ar'Darius Washington Texas Christian Baltimore Ravens 4 $152k $2,415,888$2.4m
143 Isaiah Pola-Mao Southern California Las Vegas Raiders 3 $10k $2,207,503$2.2m
144 Micah Abernathy Tennessee Atlanta Falcons 5 $70k $2,101,058$2.1m
145 Thomas Harper Notre Dame Las Vegas Raiders 3 $10k $2,045,000$2.0m
146 Mike Brown Miami (OH) Tennessee Titans 8 $30k $2,042,553$2.0m
147 Juanyeh Thomas Georgia Tech Dallas Cowboys 3 $15k $1,872,000$1.9m
148 A.J. Finley Mississippi Los Angeles Chargers 2 $83k $1,540,000$1.5m
149 Jalen Elliott Notre Dame Pittsburgh Steelers 5 $51k $1,539,294$1.5m
150 Zayne Anderson Brigham Young Green Bay Packers 4 $20k $1,438,267$1.4m
151 Devon Key Western Kentucky Denver Broncos 5 $57k $1,222,600
152 Keidron Smith Kentucky Denver Broncos 4 $20k $1,077,000
153 Brandon Joseph Notre Dame Detroit Lions 2 $15k $1,011,000
154 Brandon Hill Pittsburgh Houston Texans 2 $78k $686,000
155 Douglas Coleman Texas Tech Chicago Bears 2 $5k $475,000
156 LJ Davis Northern Arizona Green Bay Packers 1 $0 $470,000

The table holds every one of the 156 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 safety's money is paid

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

58.1% base salary

  • Base salary 58.1%
  • Signing bonus 27.5%
  • Restructured money 5.1%
  • Roster bonus 5.4%
  • Option bonus 2.1%
  • Workout bonus 1.1%
  • Incentives 0.8%
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 58.1% 52.9% $1,635,584,622$1.64bn
Signing bonus paid up front and guaranteed the moment the contract is signed 27.5% 27.6% $774,871,253$774.9m
Restructured money base salary converted to signing money so a deal fits under the cap 5.1% 6.3% $142,811,160$142.8m
Roster bonus paid for being on the roster on a named day of the year 5.4% 6.6% $151,696,956$151.7m
Option bonus paid to take up a season already written into the deal 2.1% 5.3% $59,477,500$59.5m
Workout bonus paid for turning up to the offseason programme 1.1% 0.7% $29,590,327$29.6m
Incentives paid for hitting a number 0.8% 0.5% $21,649,723$21.6m

More of a safety's money is the weekly paycheque than the league average: 58.1% 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 safetys each season

Every safety on a payroll that year, added together

Peak in 2024

2024 is the biggest year for safety pay on record at $508,562,678 across 157 players, which is $3.2m each. The whole 2024 payroll is here.

Safety money by franchise

What the safetys on each roster have earned in their careers

32 franchises

# Franchise Players Per player Career earnings
01 Pittsburgh Steelers 6 $28.5m $170,971,592$171.0m
02 Atlanta Falcons 5 $34.1m $170,287,008$170.3m
03 Tennessee Titans 6 $27.7m $166,034,203$166.0m
04 Baltimore Ravens 6 $27.3m $163,942,381$163.9m
05 Minnesota Vikings 3 $47.0m $141,074,318$141.1m
06 New Orleans Saints 4 $33.5m $133,920,397$133.9m
07 Jacksonville Jaguars 6 $20.4m $122,672,699$122.7m
08 Cleveland Browns 7 $17.1m $119,416,541$119.4m
09 Houston Texans 6 $19.8m $118,625,762$118.6m
10 New England Patriots 6 $19.5m $117,003,471$117.0m
11 Arizona Cardinals 4 $28.9m $115,793,552$115.8m
12 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 6 $18.9m $113,404,190$113.4m
13 Los Angeles Chargers 3 $37.8m $113,250,340$113.3m
14 Miami Dolphins 6 $18.0m $107,943,456$107.9m
15 Chicago Bears 5 $19.7m $98,486,931$98.5m
16 Seattle Seahawks 4 $22.9m $91,545,444$91.5m
17 Cincinnati Bengals 6 $12.8m $76,741,381$76.7m
18 Green Bay Packers 6 $12.0m $72,113,124$72.1m
19 Dallas Cowboys 4 $15.8m $63,394,708$63.4m
20 Los Angeles Rams 5 $11.3m $56,267,787$56.3m
21 Carolina Panthers 5 $10.3m $51,546,940$51.5m
22 Philadelphia Eagles 3 $16.9m $50,728,542$50.7m
23 Denver Broncos 6 $8.0m $47,717,676$47.7m
24 Kansas City Chiefs 2 $20.5m $41,078,157$41.1m
25 Buffalo Bills 4 $9.7m $38,835,370$38.8m
26 Washington Commanders 6 $6.4m $38,213,038$38.2m
27 New York Jets 4 $9.1m $36,549,320$36.5m
28 Las Vegas Raiders 6 $6.0m $36,286,179$36.3m
29 San Francisco 49ers 4 $8.7m $34,887,228$34.9m
30 Indianapolis Colts 6 $4.7m $28,124,756$28.1m
31 Detroit Lions 4 $4.2m $16,909,130$16.9m
32 New York Giants 2 $5.4m $10,711,199$10.7m

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

Where a safety is drafted

Career earnings by the round a player was taken in

101 with a round on record

Round 1 $68m Round 2 $29m Round 3 $22m Round 4 $17m Round 5 $5.3m Round 6 $13m Round 7 $5.3m

A first-round safety has earned $68.1m a career against $5.3m for one taken in round 7. The whole draft is ranked here.

Which colleges produce the richest safetys

Schools with three or more in the position

22 colleges

Alabama $237m
Louisiana State $218m
Notre Dame $197m
Boston College $111m
Minnesota $110m
Texas $106m
Utah $104m
Washington $90m
Ohio State $88m
Wyoming $77m
Michigan $69m
Virginia $68m
Iowa $60m
Maryland $50m
Pittsburgh $32m

Alabama has put 6 safetys into the league, worth $236,971,683 between them. Every college is ranked across all positions here.

Frequently asked questions

Who is the highest paid NFL safety of all time?

Harrison Smith, $122,735,243, a first-round pick in 2012. Minkah Fitzpatrick is second on $110,110,823.

How much does an NFL safety earn over a career?

$17,721,005 on average across the 156 careers here, and 10th of 18 positions on money per career. The figure is money actually paid rather than the headline value of a contract.

Is a safety's money guaranteed?

27.5% of it arrives as a signing bonus, which is the part that cannot be taken back, against 27.6% across the league. The other 58.1% is base salary and it stops the day a player is released.

Which franchise has paid the most at safety?

Pittsburgh Steelers, $170,971,592 across the 6 players on its books, counted as everything those careers have earned anywhere.

How many NFL safetys are still playing?

57 of the 156 here were on a roster in 2026, with $92,629,705 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 End · Defensive Tackle · Cornerback · Outside Linebacker · Guard · Left Tackle · Right Tackle · Inside Linebacker · Every position · NFL career earnings

The fifty richest safetys

Every position

By season

Elsewhere in American football