They may not get the same level of attention as quarterbacks and other offensive skill positions, but defensive players are starting to make a pretty penny in contract negotiations as of late.
While quarterbacks still make up half of the top 30 highest-paid players annually heading into the 2022 season, there are six defensive players who have worked their way into the mix with massive contract signings.
There are a few different ways one can analyze NFL contracts — average salary, guaranteed money and total contract value.
Those different filters will provide different results as to a player’s ranking among the rest of the league, but all three are important to assess the value of a player’s contract.
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Below, The Sporting News has you covered with the top 10 highest-paid defensive players for the 2022 season, broken down by all three of those sections.
NFL’s highest-paid defensive players based on 2022 salary
1. Aaron Donald, DT, Los Angeles Rams
Annual salary: $31.7 million
Fresh off of his first Super Bowl ring, there were rumors that Donald may retire after climbing the NFL’s mountaintop. He put an end to those rumors when the Rams re-worked his contract to sign him to the most lucrative deal by a non-QB in NFL history, landing Donald up to $95 million over the next three seasons.
A three-time Defensive Player of the Year and seven-time All-Pro defensive tackle, Donald landed $60 million guaranteed over his first two seasons as he looks to continue his reign as one of the most dominant players in the league.
2. TJ Watt, OLB, Pittsburgh Steelers
Annual salary: $28 million
Watt signed a four-year contract extension worth up to $112 million before the start of the 2021 season, which, at the time, made him the highest-paid defensive player in the league annually. Donald’s record-breaking deal may have surpassed Watt’s, but the 27-year-old outside linebacker’s $80 million guaranteed is still the most by a defensive player in the league.
Watt is more than deserving of every penny, coming off a record-tying Defensive Player of the Year campaign last season. His 22.5 sacks matched Hall of Famer Michael Strahan for the most in a single season in NFL history, and it was Watt’s second year in a row leading the league in sacks.
He has also led the NFL in tackles for a loss in back-to-back years, tallying 23 in 2020 and 21 in 2021.
3. Joey Bosa, OLB, Los Angeles Chargers
Annual salary: $27 million
When Bosa signed a five-year extension worth $135 million back in 2020, it made him the highest-paid defensive player in the league. The former no. 3 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft wasted no time to establish himself as one of the best defensive players in the league, taking home Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in his first season.
He has recorded more than 10 sacks in four of his six seasons in the league and has been a Pro Bowl outside linebacker for the last three years.
4. Myles Garrett, DE, Cleveland Browns
Annual salary: $25 million
Garrett’s current contract is still record-breaking. The superstar defensive end signed a five-year, $125 million extension with the Browns back in 2020 with $100 million guaranteed — the most in NFL history for a defensive player.
Garrett has followed up that contract with back-to-back All-Pro seasons, more than earning his keep as the best player in Cleveland. Last season, Garrett posted career-highs across the board with 16 sacks, 51 tackles, 17 tackles for a loss and 33 QB hits.
T-5. Khalil Mack, OLB, Los Angeles Chargers
Annual salary: $23.5 million
In 2018 when the Raiders traded Mack to the Bears, Chicago immediately signed him to a six-year, $141 million contract which is still the largest contract in NFL history for a defensive player.
Mack has been one of the best defensive players in the league over the last eight seasons, earning Defensive Player of the Year in 2016 to go with three All-Pro bids. He is set to play his first season with the Chargers this year, making for a terrifying defensive pairing alongside Bosa.
T-5. Maxx Crosby, DE, Las Vegas Raiders
Annual salary: $23.5 million
Coming off of a breakout season in 2021, the Raiders signed Crosby to a four-year, $95 million deal this offseason.
The 24-year-old has been a diamond in the rough for Las Vegas, turning into an All-Pro-caliber defensive end despite being picked in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft.
He was runner-up to Nick Bosa for Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2019 and earned his first Pro Bowl nod last year. Crosby had eight sacks and a career-high 56 tackles in 2021.
T-7. DeForest Buckner, DT, Indianapolis Colts
Annual salary: $21 million
The 49ers reportedly low-balled Buckner during contract negotiations back in 2019 and the defensive tackle didn’t take long to show his former team what they missed out on.
In his first season after signing a four-year, $84 million deal with the Colts, Buckner went on to have his first-ever First Team All-Pro year of his career in 2020.
The former no. 7 overall pick of the 2016 NFL Draft has continued to establish himself as one of the best interior defensive linemen in the league, tallying seven sacks and 68 tackles last season.
T-7. Jaire Alexander, CB, Green Bay Packers
Annual salary: $21 million
Alexander breaks a streak of defensive linemen and linebackers popping up on this list as the highest-paid defensive back, annually, in the league.
Despite missing all but four games in the 2021 season due to injury, the Packers signed Alexander to a four-year, $84 million deal this past offseason. His $30 million signing bonus was the most in NFL history for a defensive back, rewarding one of the best corners in the game today.
T-7. Leonard Williams, DE, New York Giants
Annual salary: $21 million
The Giants acquired Williams from the Jets back in 2019 and he made his impact felt right away, recording a career-high 11.5 sacks in his first full season with the G-Men.
The Giants rewarded him with a huge three-year, $63 million deal in the 2021 offseason and he followed that up with a career-high 81 tackles to go with 6.5 sacks last year.
However, despite being one of the highest-paid defensive players in the league, Williams has not made a Pro Bowl since 2016 and has never been First or Second Team All-Pro.
10. Denzel Ward, CB, Cleveland Browns
Annual salary: $20.1 million
Ward joins Alexander as the only two defensive backs to crack the top 10 of the annual highest-paid defensive players in the league.
Ward’s five-year, $100.5 million deal — which pays $20.1 million annually — was the most for a corner in NFL history until Alexander signed his deal with the Packers.
Coming off of his second Pro Bowl season in 2021, Cleveland was able to lock up the Ohio native and Ohio State product long-term. The former no. 4 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft had 43 tackles, 10 pass breakups and three interceptions in 2021.
NFL’s highest-paid defensive players in guaranteed money for 2022
As mentioned above, Watt’s $80 million guaranteed is the most by a non-quarterback in NFL history. Who else on the defensive side of the ball stacks up to the Steelers’ reigning Defensive Player of the Year in guaranteed money?
| Rank | Player | Total guarantees |
| 1. | TJ Watt, Steelers | $80 million |
| 2. | Joey Bosa, Chargers | $78 million |
| 3. | Khalil Mack, Chargers | $60 million |
| 4. | Aaron Donald, Rams | $46.5 million |
| T-5. | Von Miller, Bills | $45 million |
| T-5. | Leonard Williams | $45 million |
| 7. | Denzel Ward, Browns | $44.5 million |
| 8. | Jalen Ramsey, Rams | $43.7 million |
| 9. | Myles Garrett, Browns | $43.6 million |
| 10. | CJ Mosley, Jets | $43 million |
MORE: Ranking the NFL’s most indispensable defensive players
NFL’s highest-paid defensive players in total contract value
Mack’s $141 million contract, which he signed with the Bears in 2018, is the largest deal signed by a defensive player in NFL history. Which other defensive stars have cracked the $100 million club?
| Rank | Player | Total contract value |
| 1. | Khalil Mack, Chargers | $141 million |
| 2. | Joey Bosa, Chargers | $135 million |
| 3. | Myles Garrett, Browns | $125 million |
| 4. | Von Miller, Bills | $120 million |
| 5. | TJ Watt, Steelers | $112 million |
| 6. | Denzel Ward, Browns | $100.5 million |
| 7. | Jalen Ramsey, Rams | $100 million |
| 8. | Shaquille Leonard, Colts | $98.5 million |
| 9. | Marshon Lattimore, Saints | $97.6 million |
| 10. | Marlon Humphrey, Ravens | $97.5 million |