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NFL · 59 CAREERS ON THE BOOKS

Atlanta Falcons player earnings

$1,654,161,617 earned by the 59 players on the roster, led by Kirk Cousins on $366,669,486.

Atlanta Falcons are 4th of 32 on what the roster is worth and 17th on what the club has paid out. The first number counts everything the men on the books have been paid anywhere in their careers and the second counts only the seasons the club's own name is against, which is why they disagree. The Atlanta Falcons cap sheet is here.

ROSTER EARNINGS $1.65bn
PAID OUT BY THE CLUB $1.30bn
PLAYERS 59
ON THE 2026 ROSTER 21
STILL CONTRACTED $130.4m

The twenty biggest earners on the roster

Career earnings, wherever the money was paid

Kirk Cousins $366.7m

Kirk Cousins $367m Jake Matthews $159m Grady Jarrett $122m Chris Lindstrom $94m Jessie Bates III $84m Matt Judon $75m A.J. Terrell $72m Justin Simmons $70m David Onyemata $65m Kaleb McGary $45m Darnell Mooney $45m Kyle Pitts $44m Eddie Goldman $32m Younghoe Koo $26m Kaden Elliss $25m Bijan Robinson $22m Drake London $22m Bradley Pinion $21m Mike Hughes $19m Michael Penix Jr. $19m

The twenty here hold 86.3% of everything the roster has earned, and Kirk Cousins alone holds 22.2% of it. A roster is always shaped like this: a handful of second contracts and a long tail of men still on rookie money.

Every Atlanta Falcons player ranked by career earnings

Money paid, and what is still contracted

59 careers

# Player Position Seasons Signing Contracted Career earnings
001 Kirk Cousins Michigan State Quarterback 16 $108.5m $45.0m $366,669,486$366.7m
002 Jake Matthews Texas A&M Left Tackle 13 $36.7m $158,680,093$158.7m
003 Grady Jarrett Clemson Defensive Tackle 11 $34.7m $122,375,147$122.4m
004 Chris Lindstrom Boston College Guard 10 $36.2m $37.0m $93,727,754$93.7m
005 Jessie Bates III Wake Forest Safety 9 $19.7m $83,898,248$83.9m
006 Matt Judon Grand Valley State Outside Linebacker 9 $25.3m $74,557,512$74.6m
007 A.J. Terrell Clemson Cornerback 9 $33.0m $36.0m $71,845,238$71.8m
008 Justin Simmons Boston College Safety 9 $20.4m $70,202,947$70.2m
009 David Onyemata Manitoba Defensive Tackle 10 $20.9m $65,050,714$65.1m
010 Kaleb McGary Washington Right Tackle 7 $11.5m $45,291,569$45.3m
011 Darnell Mooney Tulane Wide Receiver 7 $15.3m $44,609,756$44.6m
012 Kyle Pitts Florida Tight End 5 $21.3m $43,863,192$43.9m
013 Eddie Goldman Florida State Defensive Tackle 9 $13.5m $32,284,375$32.3m
014 Younghoe Koo Georgia Southern Kicker 9 $6.3m $26,499,890$26.5m
015 Kaden Elliss Idaho Inside Linebacker 7 $5.3m $24,689,265$24.7m
016 Bijan Robinson Texas Running Back 4 $13.0m $21,958,540$22.0m
017 Drake London Southern California Wide Receiver 4 $12.8m $21,690,977$21.7m
018 Bradley Pinion Clemson Punter 11 $1.9m $20,845,241$20.8m
019 Mike Hughes Central Florida Cornerback 7 $7.3m $19,185,942$19.2m
020 Michael Penix Jr. Washington Quarterback 4 $13.5m $3.9m $18,967,276$19.0m
021 Lorenzo Carter Georgia Outside Linebacker 7 $5.0m $17,834,965$17.8m
022 Charlie Woerner Georgia Tight End 7 $3.2m $15,476,028$15.5m
023 Ray-Ray McCloud Clemson Wide Receiver 9 $2.9m $11,715,341$11.7m
024 Brandon Parker North Carolina A&T Right Tackle 8 $1.9m $10,559,358$10.6m
025 Richie Grant Central Florida Safety 4 $3.4m $10,090,856$10.1m
026 Matthew Bergeron Syracuse Guard 4 $3.5m $9,529,427$9.5m
027 Antonio Hamilton South Carolina State Cornerback 9 $963k $9,175,822$9.2m
028 Arnold Ebiketie Penn State Outside Linebacker 4 $3.6m $9,018,835$9.0m
029 Ruke Orhorhoro Clemson Defensive End 4 $4.0m $2.1m $7,768,927$7.8m
030 Ross Dwelley San Diego Tight End 7 $621k $7,427,059$7.4m
031 Rondale Moore Purdue Wide Receiver 4 $2.4m $7,241,843$7.2m
032 Khadarel Hodge Alcorn State Wide Receiver 7 $298k $6,968,092$7.0m
033 Drew Dalman Stanford Center 4 $777k $6,964,810$7.0m
034 Kentavius Street North Carolina State Defensive End 8 $1.4m $6,927,202$6.9m
035 Troy Andersen Montana State Inside Linebacker 4 $1.6m $6,194,739$6.2m
036 Zach Harrison Ohio State Defensive End 4 $1.0m $5,865,644$5.9m
037 DeAngelo Malone Western Kentucky Outside Linebacker 4 $983k $5,473,669$5.5m
038 Storm Norton Toledo Right Tackle 12 $167k $5,301,029$5.3m
039 Clark Phillips III Utah Cornerback 4 $774k $4,938,313$4.9m
040 James Smith-Williams North Carolina State Defensive End 5 $265k $4,685,200$4.7m
041 Tyler Allgeier Brigham Young Running Back 4 $334k $4,287,082$4.3m
042 Ta'Quon Graham Texas Defensive End 4 $351k $4,011,086$4.0m
043 Bralen Trice Washington Outside Linebacker 4 $1.1m $1.6m $4,001,138$4.0m
044 DeMarcco Hellams Alabama Safety 4 $106k $3,993,899$4.0m
045 Jovaughn Gwyn South Carolina Center 4 $106k $3,946,620$3.9m
046 Avery Williams Boise State Running Back 4 $240k $3,720,152$3.7m
047 Brandon Dorlus Oregon Defensive End 4 $822k $1.2m $3,652,396$3.7m
048 JD Bertrand Notre Dame Inside Linebacker 4 $350k $1.2m $3,180,024$3.2m
049 Dee Alford Tusculum Cornerback 3 $11k $3,144,631$3.1m
050 Nathan Landman Colorado Inside Linebacker 3 $8k $3,125,444$3.1m
051 Jase McClellan Alabama Running Back 4 $194k $1.2m $3,024,368$3.0m
052 Casey Washington Illinois Wide Receiver 4 $194k $1.2m $3,023,596$3.0m
053 Harrison Hand Temple Cornerback 4 $448k $2,790,860$2.8m
054 Liam McCullough Ohio State Long Snapper 4 $6k $2,680,273$2.7m
055 Kyle Hinton Washburn Guard 5 $253k $2,635,735$2.6m
056 Ryan Neuzil Appalachian State Center 4 $5k $2,438,118$2.4m
057 Micah Abernathy Tennessee Safety 5 $70k $2,101,058$2.1m
058 Milo Eifler Illinois Inside Linebacker 7 $60k $1,668,816$1.7m
059 Robert Burns Connecticut Fullback 2 $1,000 $686,000

The table holds every one of the 59 careers on the books. 58.5% of the money on this roster is base salary against 52.9% across the league, so more of it than usual is money that stops the day a player is cut.

What the Atlanta Falcons have paid out, season by season

Only the seasons the club's own name is against

Peak in 2024

2024 is the club's biggest year on record at $298,751,580 across 61 players. In 2026 it is $147,618,794 across 21 players. The whole 2024 payroll is ranked by player here.

How the Atlanta Falcons money is paid

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

58.5% base salary

  • Base salary 58.5%
  • Signing bonus 28.2%
  • Restructured money 5.3%
  • Roster bonus 6.5%
  • Option bonus 0.7%
  • Workout bonus 0.2%
  • Incentives 0.6%

58.5% of the money on this roster is base salary against 52.9% across the league, so more of it than usual is money that stops the day a player is cut. Base salary, signing bonus money and the other five parts are each ranked across the whole league on their own pages.

What each position costs the Atlanta Falcons

Career earnings of the players on the books, by position

18 positions

Quarterback $386m Defensive Tackle $220m Safety $170m Left Tackle $159m Cornerback $111m Outside Linebacker $111m Guard $106m Wide Receiver $95m Tight End $67m Right Tackle $61m Inside Linebacker $39m Running Back $33m Defensive End $33m Kicker $26m Punter $21m Center $13m Long Snapper $2.7m Fullback $686k

Quarterback is the most expensive group on the roster at $385,636,762 across 2 players. Every position is ranked across the league here.

Money the Atlanta Falcons still owe

Written into contracts for seasons not yet played

$130.4m in all

# Player Position Earned so far Through Still contracted
01 Kirk Cousins Quarterback $366.7m 2027 $45,000,000$45.0m
02 Chris Lindstrom Guard $93.7m 2028 $37,000,000$37.0m
03 A.J. Terrell Cornerback $71.8m 2028 $36,000,000$36.0m
04 Michael Penix Jr. Quarterback $19.0m 2027 $3,915,360$3.9m
05 Ruke Orhorhoro Defensive End $7.8m 2027 $2,147,199$2.1m
06 Bralen Trice Outside Linebacker $4.0m 2027 $1,603,602$1.6m
07 Brandon Dorlus Defensive End $3.7m 2027 $1,190,000
08 JD Bertrand Inside Linebacker $3.2m 2027 $1,190,000
09 Jase McClellan Running Back $3.0m 2027 $1,190,000
10 Casey Washington Wide Receiver $3.0m 2027 $1,190,000

10 players on the roster have money written into seasons that have not been played. None of it is counted in any career figure on this site, because it has not been paid. The whole league's contracted money is ranked here.

Where the Atlanta Falcons roster went to college

Schools with two or more players on the books

10 colleges

Clemson $235m
Boston College $164m
Washington $68m
Georgia $33m
Central Florida $29m
Texas $26m
North Carolina State $12m
Ohio State $8.5m
Alabama $7.0m
Illinois $4.7m

Clemson has 5 players on the roster worth $234,549,894 between them. Every college is ranked across the league here.

Frequently asked questions

Who is the highest paid Atlanta Falcons player?

Kirk Cousins, $366,669,486 across his career, a fourth-round pick in 2012. Jake Matthews is second on $158,680,093.

How much are the Atlanta Falcons roster worth?

$1,654,161,617 across 59 careers, counted as everything those players have been paid anywhere in the league. That is 4th of the 32 franchises.

How much have the Atlanta Falcons paid their players?

$1,303,637,007 across the 15 seasons on this site, 2012 to 2026, which is 17th in the league.

What are the Atlanta Falcons paying in 2026?

$147,618,794 across 21 players. A further $130,426,161 is written into contracts for seasons after this one.

Which position costs the Atlanta Falcons most?

Quarterback, $385,636,762 across 2 players on the books, counted across those players' whole careers.

Where to next

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

Cleveland Browns · Miami Dolphins · Houston Texans · San Francisco 49ers · New York Jets · Philadelphia Eagles · New Orleans Saints · Denver Broncos · Every franchise · NFL career earnings

The Atlanta Falcons roster

Every franchise

By season

Elsewhere in American football