Former Georgia Bulldog quarterback Matthew Stafford has a chance to become the NFL’s highest paid player of all-time. Stafford likely wouldn’t be able to hold the title for too long, but it’d be an impressive accomplishment for the Detroit Lions quarterback.
Stafford has made $203.8 million over the course of his eleven season NFL career per 247Sports. Stafford’s career earnings currently rank ninth all-time in NFL history.
The Detroit Lions quarterback is the youngest NFL player in the top 20 highest earners of all-time. In fact, all of the players ahead of Stafford are aged 35 or older. The top spot on the list is currently held by former New York Giants legend Eli Manning at $252.3 million.
Another factor working for Stafford is the fact that he was among the last NFL rookies to not be paid on a scaled payment level. Recent star NFL quarterbacks like Russell Wilson made tens of millions of dollars less in their initial contracts. The Lions signed Stafford to a six year, $72 million deal as the number one overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft.
In order for Stafford to become the NFL’s highest paid player ever, he must play for several more seasons and hope no other current NFL quarterbacks land a massive deal that overtakes his career earnings.
The Lions have the former Georgia Bulldog signed through the 2022 season with his 2023 contract being a dummy or void year. Stafford has a 2020 salary cap hit of $21.3 million.
