Matt Ryan becomes NFL’s new highest paid player ever, surpassing $100 million guaranteed

Can you believe it was less than a year ago, the Raiders made Derek Carr the highest paid player in NFL history? Carr was the NFL’s first $25 million per season player, signing a 5-year, $125 million extension. He’s now the league’s fifth highest paid player.

The latest to bump everyone down the list is Falcons QB Matt Ryan who today became the new highest paid player in the league, setting a pretty eye popping record of his own — the first player to receive $100 million GUARANTEED.

Ryan signed a 5-year, $150 million deal with the Falcons, putting his salary at $30 million per season. two thirds of that deal is guaranteed, which is incredible and could set a new standard for guaranteed money across the league. For comparison, Carr received $40 million guaranteed on his deal (2/5).

The top five highest paid quarterbacks on a per season basis now are as follows:

Matt Ryan $30 million

Kirk Cousins $28 million

Jimmy Garoppolo $27.5 million

Matt Stafford $27 million

Derek Carr $25 million

Perhaps before we reach June 22, which would be a year since Carr signed his deal, he will drop out of the top five.