The Denver Broncos agreed to terms with running back Melvin Gordon on a two-year, $16 million contract on Thursday. Gordon will have a salary cap hit of $7 million this year and his $8 million per season average salary makes him the sixth-highest paid running back in the league.
Here’s a look at the NFL’s top-10 highest-paid running backs by average salary, courtesy of OverTheCap.com:
| RB | Average Salary |
| 1. Ezekiel Elliott | $15 million |
| 2. Le’Veon Bell | $13.125 million |
| 3. David Johnson | $13 million |
| 4. Derrick Henry | $10.278 million |
| 5. Kenyan Drake | $8.483 million |
| 6. Melvin Gordon | $8 million |
| 7. Saquon Barkley | $7,798,688 |
| 8. Leonard Fournette | $6,786,894 |
| 9. Lamar Miller | $6.5 million |
| 10. Austin Ekeler | $6.125 million |
Gordon, a two-time Pro Bowler, is a physical running back who excelled as a receiver out of the backfield with the Chargers. While playing in Los Angeles, Gordon caught 224 passes for 1,873 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns. In Denver, he will team up with Phillip Lindsay to give the Broncos a dynamic one-two punch in the backfield.
We are tracking all of Denver’s free agency moves here.
