Most lists of the NFL's highest-paid players in a particular year are imprecise. Salary deferrals aren't considered. Taxes aren't factored into the equation either.
There is usually more variance among the highest-paid football players on a year-to-year basis than with their counterparts in the NBA and MLB. Front-loading deals is a necessity since contracts aren't fully guaranteed. Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is the NFL's highest-paid player at $22 million per year by average yearly salary. He isn't close to being the highest-paid NFL player in 2015, with an $11.6 million salary before taxes, because his contract, which was signed in 2013, contained a $35 million signing bonus. The same will be true next year when his pre-tax salary is $12.6 million.
Salary Deferrals
Salary is usually deferred in the most lucrative NFL contracts. Typically, when a player has a large signing bonus in his contract, he doesn't receive a portion of the bonus until the next calendar year.
This practice has been a way of life in the NFL for quite some time. Peyton Manning's seven-year, $98 million contract with the Indianapolis Colts from March 2004, which made him the NFL's highest-paid player (by average salary), included a $34.5 million signing bonus. $18.5 million of the $34.5 million wasn't paid to Manning until March 2005. Tom Brady didn't receive the final $5 million of the $30 million signing bonus in his 2013 contract renegotiation with the New England Patriots until this past February.
Several players who signed contracts in 2015 got large signing bonuses. The overwhelming majority will be receiving payments from their signing bonuses in 2016. The deferrals and payment dates are in the following chart.
| Signing bonus deferrals on 2015 deals | ||||
| Name | Team | Total Signing Bonus | Deferred Amount | Payment Date |
| Eli Manning | Giants | $31,000,000 | $8,500,000 | 1/27/2016 |
| Ben Roethlisberger | Steelers | $31,000,000 | $9,000,000 | 3/31/2016 |
| Russell Wilson | Seahawks | $31,000,000 | $11,000,000 | 4/1/2016 |
| Ndamukong Suh | Dolphins | $25,500,000 | $5,000,000 | 1/31/2016 |
| Philip Rivers | Chargers | $22,500,000 | $5,500,000 | 3/15/2016 |
| Cam Newton | Panthers | $22,500,000 | $7,000,000 | 4/1/2016 |
| A.J. Green | Bengals | $15,000,000 | $5,000,000 | 1/31/2016 |
Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Marcell Dareus is absent from the list even though his six-year, $95.1 million contract extension (worth a maximum of $100.35 million through salary escalators) has a $25 million signing bonus. New Bills owner Terry Pegula is paying signing bonuses in the same calendar year contracts are signed. This is also a standard practice of the Packers.
Dareus didn't receive the entire bonus in a lump sum. $10 million was payable within five days of him signing the September extension. He received the remaining $15 million in two equal installments on November 1 and December 1.
Taxes
Taxes for professional athletes are more complicated than people in most other professions because their income is earned in the states where they play. "Fans are surprised to learn that athletes are required to file taxes in their home state and practically every state where they play a game," said Robert Raiola (@SportsTaxMan on Twitter). Some cities also tax athletes. According to Raiola, who is the Sports and Entertainment Group Senior Manager at New York's O'Connor Davies, Detroit, Cleveland, Cincinnati, St. Louis and Kansas City are among these cities.
A duty-days method is used to calculate these "jock taxes" athletes must pay for road games in most places. Any day where an athlete participates in mandatory team activities beginning in the offseason and ending with his team's final postseason game is considered as a duty day. For example, if there are 180 duty days in a season for a football player who spends five days in California, he will be taxed in the state on 2.78 percent of his salary.
The only states where NFL teams are located that don't have a state income tax are Florida, Tennessee, Texas and Washington. Raiola told me, "The duty days approach creates a financial advantage for those athletes, especially football players, where there isn't a state income tax."
California has the highest tax rate in the country at 13.3 percent when income reaches approximately $1 million. According to Raiola, an athlete who plays for a California team and is also a resident will likely be paying over 50 percent of his salary in income taxes.
Top Earners
I enlisted the help of Raiola to provide his expertise for the tax calculations in determining the 20 highest-paid NFL players for 2015. The chart is below.
Endorsement and marketing income have been excluded. All federal and state taxes are included in the calculations along with marital status. The tax implications of playing in a game in London or charitable contributions aren't factored into the equation. Playoff money isn't included in salary but any incentives earned in 2014 have been included, since payment occurs in 2015. Players are assumed to be a resident of the state and city where they play, and agent fees are the maximum three percent allowed under NFLPA regulations.
There is one more important consideration. Since the final regular-season game is on Jan. 3, 2016, players will receive 16/17th of base salary at the most in 2015. Some teams pay players every two weeks. Players are being treated as receiving weekly paychecks, so 1/17th of base salary will be paid next year.
The Tennessee Titans are the only team with different payroll practices. Titans players receive approximately 30 percent of base salary during the regular season (1/24th every two weeks). Another 25 percent is paid bi-weekly through mid-March. The remainder is paid on March 31.
| Real highest-played players of 2015 | |||||||
| Rank Post- Taxes | Rank Pre- Taxes | Name | Team | Res. | State Income Tax Rate | Salary | After Taxes |
| 1 | 1 | Philip Rivers | Chargers | CA | 13.3% | $31,117,647 | $15,397,711 |
| 2 | 2 | Eli Manning | Giants | NJ | 8.97% | $28,176,471 | $14,669,679 |
| 3 | 3 | Marcell Dareus | Bills | NY | 8.82% | $27,647,059 | $14,398,890 |
| 4 | 4 | Ben Roethlisberger | Steelers | PA | 3.07% | $26,191,176 | $14,088,970 |
| 5 | 5 | Cam Newton | Panthers | NC | 5.75% | $23,941,176 | $12,918,173 |
| 6 | 6 | Matt Ryan | Falcons | GA | 6% | $22,823,529 | $12,325,518 |
| 7 | 7 | Ndamukong Suh | Dolphins | FL | None | $21,427,059 | $12,309,315 |
| 8 | 9 | Russell Wilson | Seahawks | WA | None | $20,658,824 | $11,883,467 |
| 9 | 8 | A.J. Green | Bengals | OH | 5.392% | $21,058,824 | $11,209,394 |
| 10 | 10 | Jay Cutler | Bears | IL | 3.75% | $19,588,235 | $10,825,070 |
| 11 | 13 | Gerald McCoy | Buccaneers | FL | None | $18,205,682 | $10,475,457 |
| 12 | 11 | Alex Smith | Chiefs | MO | 6% | $19,300,000 | $10,292,357 |
| 13 | 12 | Drew Brees | Saints | LA | 6% | $18,268,487 | $10,118,654 |
| 14 | 15 | Tony Romo | Cowboys | TX | None | $16,941,176 | $9,751,162 |
| 15 | 17 | J.J. Watt | Texans | TX | None | $16,882,588 | $9,682,485 |
| 16 | 14 | Robert Quinn | Rams | MO | 6% | $17,738,733 | $9,464,064 |
| 17 | 16 | Cameron Jordan | Saints | LA | 6% | $16,912,000 | $9,359,438 |
| 18 | 20 | Dez Bryant | Cowboys | TX | None | $15,823,529 | $9,100,185 |
| 19 | 18 | Patrick Peterson | Cardinals | AZ | 4.54% | $16,397,429 | $9,004,253 |
| 20 | 19 | LeSean McCoy | Bills | NY | 8.82% | $15,845,588 | $8,270,301 |
There isn't much movement among the ten highest-paid players in pre-tax earnings and salary after taxes. Russell Wilson moves from ninth place to the eighth spot. He is benefitting from playing in a place, Washington, without a state income tax.
The movement occurs with the second ten players. Nobody retains the same ranking before and after taxes with this group.
There are five returning players from last year's list. Matt Ryan, who was 2014's highest-paid player, is the top-earning repeater. He ranks sixth primarily because his $12 million option bonus, which is essentially an additional signing bonus usually in the second or third year of a contract to exercise later years in the deal, from 2014 wasn't paid until March 2015.
Jay Cutler is only other player in the top ten for both 2014 and 2015. Gerald McCoy's repeat appearance stems from payment of his $2.5 million October 2014 roster bonus and $4.5 million of his 2014 base salary ($7 million total) being delayed until this past March. Eli Manning and Tony Romo are the other repeat players.
Rookies
None of the 2015 early first-round picks are among the highest-paid players. $6 million of first-overall pick Jameis Winston's $16,697,292 signing bonus is payable next March 31. Winston's base salary this year is his league minimum of $435,000, which is the case for all rookies.
The highest-paid rookie in 2015 after taxes is second-overall pick Marcus Mariota at $7,776,710. His salary before taxes is $13,529,498. $2,467,541 of the Tennessee quarterback's $15,870,164 signing bonus is deferred until March 15.
Oakland Raiders wide receiver Amari Cooper, the fourth-overall pick, is ahead of Mariota in pre-tax salary with $15,151,680 because none of his $14,742,268 is deferred into 2016. California having a high tax rate while Tennessee not having a state income tax allows Mariota to close the gap. Cooper is making $7,516,212 after taxes.
Joel Corry is a former sports agent who helped found Premier Sports & Entertainment, a sports management firm that represents professional athletes and coaches. Before his tenure at Premier, Joel worked for Management Plus Enterprises, which represented Shaquille O'Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon and Ronnie Lott.
You can follow him on Twitter: @corryjoel | You can email him at jccorry@gmail.com
