How Do NFL Players Get Paid?

Have you ever wondered how NFL players make their money? NFL players are some of the highest-paid athletes in the world!

They earn millions of dollars playing the sport they love. But here’s the thing – how do NFL players get paid is not as simple as getting a paycheck every month like your parents might.

Their payment system has many different parts, including base salary, bonuses, guarantees, and other special rewards.

To understand all the details about how NFL contracts work and the complete pay system, experts at legendstadium.com have put together this helpful guide.

How Do NFL Players Get Paid?

Let’s break down everything in a way that’s super easy to understand — even if you’re just learning about football!

The Basic Pay for NFL Players: Base Salary

Every NFL player has something called a base salary. This is the main money they earn just for being on the team and playing games during the season.

The base salary is divided into 18 weekly checks during the regular season. That means players get paid every single week when games are happening!

Here are some quick facts about base salary:

• Paid every week when the season is going on
• Some salaries are guaranteed, some are not
• If guaranteed, the player gets paid even if they get injured

So if a player has a base salary of $1 million, they don’t get it all at once. They get about $55,000 each week during those 18 weeks!

What Are “Guarantees” in the NFL?

Now, let’s talk about guarantees. This is an important part of understanding how do NFL players get paid.

Guarantees mean the player still gets their money even if something goes wrong — like getting hurt or not playing well.

There are 3 main types of guarantees:

• Injury Guarantee: The player gets paid if they get hurt and can’t play
• Skill Guarantee: The player gets paid even if they’re not performing well
• Cap Guarantee: The player gets paid if the team releases them because of budget problems

When a contract has a “full guarantee,” it means all three types are included. That’s the best deal a player can get!

Bonus Money (Extra Cash!)

Besides their regular salary, NFL players can earn bonus money. These are like special rewards for different things!

Here are the main types of bonuses:

• Signing Bonus: Paid when the player signs a new deal with the team
• Roster Bonus: Paid for staying on the team for a certain amount of time
• Workout Bonus: Paid for showing up to team training camps during the offseason
• Performance Bonus: Paid for playing really well — like scoring lots of touchdowns, making big tackles, or winning games

These bonuses can make a big difference in how much an NFL player earns each year. Sometimes bonuses add millions of extra dollars to what they make!

What Is the Salary Cap?

Here’s something interesting about the NFL salary structure: The NFL has a rule that limits how much money each team can spend on players. This is called the salary cap.

In 2024, the salary cap was about $255.4 million per team. That might sound like a lot, but teams have to split it between 53 players!

Why does the salary cap exist?

• Keeps teams fair and balanced — no team becomes too powerful
• Stops rich teams from buying every star player
• Makes managers plan smartly with money and make tough choices

The salary cap makes the NFL more exciting because any team can win, not just the richest ones!

How Often Do NFL Players Get Paid?

Here’s something surprising: NFL players don’t get paid all year long like people with regular jobs.

They get most of their salary during the 18-week regular season (September through January). But they don’t get weekly paychecks during the offseason when there are no games.

However, some payments come at different times:

• Signing bonuses are paid when they sign the contract
• Roster bonuses might come at the start of the season
• Workout bonuses are paid during training camp

This is why many NFL players hire financial planners — special helpers who make sure their money lasts all year, even when paychecks stop coming!

The “Jock Tax” (Simple Explanation)

Here’s something that makes the NFL pay system more complicated:

NFL players have to pay taxes in many different states because they travel around the country playing games in different cities.

Let me give you an example:

• If a player lives in Texas but plays 10 games in other states like California or New York, part of their income gets taxed in those states too!

This is called the “jock tax,” and it can be really confusing for players. Sometimes they end up paying taxes in 8 or 10 different states in one year!

Contract Changes (Restructuring)

Sometimes teams need to change a player’s contract. This is called restructuring, and it’s an important part of how NFL contracts work.

Here’s what restructuring means: The team moves money from the player’s salary to bonuses. The player still gets paid the same amount, just in a different way.

Why do teams do this?

• Helps the team save money against the salary cap for that season
• Player still gets paid, just structured differently
• Can cause money problems for the team in future years

It’s like rearranging your allowance — you still get the same total, but it comes at different times!

Interesting Facts About NFL Salaries

Here are some cool facts about NFL player bonuses and salaries:

• Patrick Mahomes (quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs) has the biggest contract ever — over $500 million!
• Rookie players (first-year players) have a fixed salary range called the rookie wage scale — they can’t negotiate as much
• There’s something called “dead money” — this is money a team still has to pay a player even after cutting them from the team
• Minimum salary in 2024: $750,000 for brand new players (still a lot of money!)

Even the lowest-paid NFL players make more in one year than most people make in 10 years!

What does an NFL Contract look?

Let’s look at a simple example of how do NFL players get paid:

Type of Pay	When It’s Paid	Example
Base Salary	Weekly during the season	$1 million divided over 18 weeks
Signing Bonus	When signing a contract	$5 million one-time payment
Roster Bonus	At the start of the season	$500,000
Workout Bonus	During offseason training	$100,000
Performance Bonus	After a great play	$250,000

If you add all these up, this player would make $6.85 million in one year! That’s a lot of money for playing football!

Summary:

So now you know the answer to how do NFL players get paid!

NFL players get paid through a mix of salary, bonuses, and guarantees.

Some get money weekly during the season, others get big checks when they sign a contract, and some earn extra for playing really well.

The NFL salary structure is complicated with salary caps, guarantees, taxes, and bonuses — but it all works together to make sure players are rewarded for their hard work and talent.

So next time you see your favorite player scoring a touchdown, remember — every play, every catch, and every win can earn them more than just cheers! They’re also earning their paycheck, one amazing play at a time!

Now you can explain to your friends exactly how NFL stars make their millions. Pretty cool, right? 🏈