Where the NFL’s highest-paid player at each position played college football

Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr. recently signed a new agreement This makes him the highest paid defender in the world NFL. It’s the latest mega-contract in what has become an expensive arms race at the professional level, with monetary numbers rising for teams wanting to keep their best players locked up.

Winfield’s payday is also a win for Minnesota, which shaped him into the player he is today after recruiting him out of high school and working with him during four years of his amateur career. A college program can certainly tout its former stars signing big-money deals when it gets on the recruiting trail.

Winfield, of course, is just the highest-paid player at one position. When you zoom out and consider the entire football field, the NFL’s highest-compensated players come from all over the country.

It may come as no surprise given the conference’s historic success, but the SEC leads the other leagues when it comes to the highest-paid players by position in the NFL. But other leagues like the ACC and Pac-12, and even the now-defunct Big East, have produced some of the most notable players at the professional level.

Here’s a look at where the highest-paid player at each position in the NFL went to college.

Quarterback: Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals

Contract: US$275 million in five years

Faculty: LSU

Burrow is not only the highest-paid player in the NFL today; he is the highest-paid NFL player of all time. The Bengals paid him handsomely following a 2022 season in which he threw for 4,475 yards and 35 touchdowns while leading Cincinnati to a second straight AFC Championship Game appearance. Before building NFL defenses and earning Pro Bowl honors, Burrow was breaking NCAA records during a brief but prolific career at LSU. He engineered one of the greatest offenses we’ve ever run and was the focal point of LSU’s 15-0, 2019 national championship-winning season. Burrow set single-season FBS records for passing touchdowns (60), total touchdowns ( 65) and passer rating (202). His 76.3% completion rate and 5,671 passing yards led the NCAA. Unsurprisingly, Burrow took home the Heisman Trophy and was the No. 1 overall pick in 2020 NFL Draft.

Running back: Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers

Contract: US$64 million in four years

Faculty: Stanford

McCaffrey’s contract is a testament to his talent, given how undervalued running backs have become in recent years. He actually signed his current contract while a member of the Carolina Panthers, making him the highest-paid running back in NFL history, but was traded to the 49ers midway through the 2022 season. Since then, he has recorded 3,233 yards and 31 total touchdowns as a running back and receiver. McCaffrey’s versatility is no surprise given what he was able to accomplish at Stanford. He is often considered one of the best college players never to win a Heisman, especially after a 2015 season in which he rushed for 2,019 yards and eight touchdowns and caught 45 passes for 635 yards and five touchdowns. He won the 2015 Paul Hornung Award as the sport’s most versatile player and took home the consensus All-American award.

Wide receiver: AJ Brown, Philadelphia Eagles

Contract: US$96 million in three years

Faculty: old lady

Brown’s $32 million annual average is the highest for a wide receiver in NFL history. Noticing a trend here? General managers aren’t afraid to criticize their best players, and Brown certainly deserved it. He has had at least 1,000 receiving yards in four of his five pro seasons and is a three-time Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro selection. During his Ole Miss career, Brown stood out for his physical build and freakish athletic ability. He twice led the SEC in receiving and in 2018 set an Ole Miss single-season record with 1,320 passing yards.

Tight end: Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs

Contract: US$34.25 million in two years

Faculty: Cincinnati

Kelce’s partnership with quarterback Patrick Mahomes ushered in a Golden Era for the Chiefs. Kelce’s streak of seven consecutive seasons with 1,000 receiving yards, including a 2020 campaign in which he set the NFL record for receiving yards by a tight end (1,416 in just 15 games), was broken last year — and he still managed an impressive 984 yards and five touchdowns. Unlike other players on this list, Kelce was relatively unknown for most of his college career. He redshirted his first year at Cincinnati, had one reception in his second and was suspended for the entire 2010 season. It wasn’t until 2012 — his final year of eligibility — that he really broke out with 45 receptions for 722 yards and eight touchdowns. It was enough for the Chiefs to take him in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft.

Offensive Tackle: Penei Sewell, Detroit Lions

Contract: US$112 million in four years

Faculty: Oregon

Sewell was a key figure in Detroit’s renaissance under coach Dan Campbell. He has held a starting role since entering the NFL as the seventh overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and is coming off a 2023 season in which he earned first-team All-Pro honors. First impacts are nothing new for Sewell. The former blueliner was an immediate starter at Oregon in 2018 but missed six games with a high ankle sprain. He returned in 2019 and won the Outland Trophy as the best inside forward in the college football. That would be the end of Sewell’s time with the Ducks, as he was one of several prolific players who sat out the 2020 season due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic.

Guard: Chris Lindstrom, Atlanta Falcons

Contract: US$102.5 million over five years

Faculty: Boston College

Lindstrom started 49 consecutive games for Boston College from 2015 to 2018 and emerged as a star for the Eagles at various points. He began his career at right guard before switching to right tackle and earning second-team All-ACC honors in 2017. He moved back inside in 2018 and was named a member of the All-ACC First Team while paving the way for the 7- 5 from Boston College. season. The Falcons selected Lindstrom with the 14th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft — a rare first-round interior offensive lineman — and he has since landed on two All-Pro second teams.

Center: Frank Ragnow, Detroit Lions

Contract: US$54 million in four years

Faculty: Arkansas

Clearly, Detroit isn’t afraid to invest in its offensive line. Ragnow signed his new contract following a 2020 season in which he earned the first Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors of his career. Selected in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, Ragnow was a starter in each of his four seasons at Arkansas. Most of his snaps came at center, although he spent time at right guard in 2015 and 2016. Ragnow never gave up a sack in 42 games with the Razorbacks and was twice ranked as the best center in the country, according to o Pro Football. Focus.

Cornerback: Jaire Alexander, Green Bay Packers

Contract: US$84 million in four years

Faculty: Louisville

Alexander battled several injury issues in his time at Louisville and only played one full season, although it was a successful season. He started all 13 games in 2016 and earned second-team All-ACC honors after recording 39 total tackles, five interceptions and nine pass deflections. Alexander was limited to six games in 2017 and decided to forgo his final year of eligibility to enter the 2018 NFL Draft, where he was selected 18th overall by the Packers. He has been a mainstay in Green Bay’s secondary and has had 63 pass breakups and 10 interceptions over the past six years.

Safety: Antoine Winfield Jr., Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Contract: US$84.1 million in four years

Faculty: Minnesota

The son and namesake of former NFL cornerback Antoine Winfield Sr., Winfield Jr.’s new contract is impressive for a player who just finished his four-year rookie contract. It’s not shocking, though, given that he was unanimously named All-American and Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year in 2019 after leading his conference with seven interceptions. He also recorded 83 total tackles, three sacks and one pass breakup for the Golden Gophers.

Edge rusher: Nick Bosa, San Francisco 49ers

Contract: US$170 million in five years

Faculty: Ohio State

A former NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, Bosa has racked up 44.5 sacks over the past three years. He had two during San Francisco’s postseason run until the Super Bowl last season. That level of production far eclipses anything he accomplished during three years at Ohio State, even though he was still a star for the Buckeyes. He had 8.5 sacks in 2017, earning consensus All-American honors in the process. What could have been a great 2018 season was cut short after three games, although he had four sacks in that brief span. Despite such a huge setback, he was still selected second overall in 2019.

Defensive Tackle: Chris Jones, Kansas City Chiefs

Contract: US$187.5 million in five years

Faculty: State of Mississippi

Jones has been a mainstay on Kansas City’s defensive line for nearly a decade and, with a new contract in hand, will be with the Chiefs for a long time to come. He has recorded 25.5 sacks over the past two years, marking the first time in his career that he has had back-to-back double-digit sack campaigns. Jones was not a prolific pass rusher at Mississippi State, although his 18 tackles for loss over a three-year span were evidence of some upside as an interior disruptor.

Linebacker: Roquan Smith, Baltimore Ravens

Contract: US$100 million in five years

Faculty: Georgia

Georgia has a knack for producing elite linebackers. Smith had a prolific 95 tackles with the Bulldogs in 2016 before adding an extra dimension to his game in 2017, recording 14 tackles for loss and the first 6.5 sacks of his career. He became the first Georgia player to win the Butkus Award, given to the best linebacker in college football, and was selected by the Chicago Bears with the 8th overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. The Bears traded Smith to Baltimore in 2022 and he made two straight All-Pro teams with the Ravens.

Kicker: Justin Tucker, Baltimore Ravens

Contract: US$24 million in four years

Faculty: Texas

Tucker is as automatic as a kicker can be. His career field goal percentage of 90.2% is an NFL record and he has not missed more than six kicks in a single season since 2015. He made 83.3% of his field goals at Texas, which is third best mark in the program’s history.

Bettor: Michael Dickson, Seattle Seahawks

Contract: US$14.7 million over four years

Faculty: Texas

A native of Australia, Dickson is a two-time All-Big 12 selection and Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year at Texas. He also won the 2017 Ray Guy Award and was a unanimous All-American after averaging 47.4 yards per punt. Dickson completed an impressive 181 of his 428 career punts with the Seahawks inside the 20-yard line.

Conference analysis

It may come as no surprise given the conference’s historic success, but the SEC leads the other leagues when it comes to the highest-paid players by position in the NFL. But other leagues like the ACC and Pac-12, and even the now-defunct Big East, have produced some of the most notable players at the professional level.

Here’s a breakdown of which conferences produced the highest-paid players, by position, in the NFL.

Note: Numbers are divided by the last conference each player participated in before entering the NFL