The top 10 NFL contracts this offseason total over $1.5 billion. Here is what the players cut two weeks ago earned.

The 2026 NFL season kicks off tonight at Lumen Field in Seattle. Hours before kickoff, New England Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez signed a four-year, $135 million extension, ending a months-long contract dispute and making him the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history.

He joins a list of deals that define the 2026 offseason. Patrick Mahomes extended with Kansas City for $504.75 million over eight years, the largest contract in the history of professional sport. Jaxon Smith-Njigba signed a four-year, $168.6 million deal with Seattle, the largest ever for a wide receiver. Will Anderson Jr. signed a three-year, $150 million extension with Houston, including $100 million fully guaranteed. Jalen Carter got four years and $152 million from Philadelphia, making him the highest-paid interior defender in NFL history.

The top 10 contracts signed or extended this offseason total well over $1.5 billion in combined value.

On August 26, roughly 1,200 players were cut across the league in a single afternoon. They had trained all offseason. They had played the preseason games that tested the starters, filled the rosters, and produced the content that makes the NFL the most commercially valuable sports league in the world. They earned nothing from the teams that released them past that date.

That gap is the story the kickoff coverage will not tell.

The top 10 NFL contracts heading into tonight

Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs: $504.75 million over 8 years ($63.1M AAV). The first contract in any sport to exceed $500 million in total value.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Seattle Seahawks: $168.6 million over 4 years ($42.15M AAV). The largest wide receiver contract in NFL history. He plays tonight.
Jalen Carter, DT, Philadelphia Eagles: $152 million over 4 years ($38M AAV). The highest-paid interior defender in NFL history.
Will Anderson Jr., EDGE, Houston Texans: $150 million over 3 years ($50M AAV). $100 million fully guaranteed.
Christian Gonzalez, CB, New England Patriots: $135 million over 4 years. Agreed this morning. Highest-paid cornerback in NFL history.
Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills: One of only three players averaging over $60 million per year.
Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas Cowboys: Second among QBs by AAV on his restructured extension.
Bijan Robinson, RB, Atlanta Falcons: $75 million over 3 years, $51 million guaranteed. Highest-paid running back in NFL history.
Trent McDuffie, CB, Los Angeles Rams: $124 million over 4 years, $100 million guaranteed.
Trae Hendrickson, EDGE, Baltimore Ravens: $112 million over 4 years, $60 million guaranteed.

What the players cut on August 26 earned

Every NFL team carried 90 players into training camp and cut to 53 by August 26. Across 32 teams, roughly 1,200 players were released in a single afternoon.

If they made the practice squad, they earned $13,750 per week for the regular season, approximately $247,500 across 18 weeks, with no long-term guarantee from either side. They can be released mid-week with no further obligation. If they cleared waivers and went unsigned, they earned nothing past August 26.

The NFL salary cap this season is $301.2 million per team, an all-time record and a $22 million increase from last year. Total cap space across all 32 teams exceeds $9.6 billion. The players released on August 26 participated in generating the preseason value that supports that number. They received no guaranteed share of it.

The structural gap in athlete earnings

The ratio between Mahomes at $63 million per year and a practice squad player at $247,500 for the season is roughly 255 to 1. Both are employed by NFL franchises in the same league year.

This is not an accident. Non-guaranteed contracts, a hard salary cap, and a 53-man roster limit are structural features that produce both the largest contracts in sport and the most precarious athlete earnings in sport simultaneously.

The players on the field tonight survived the cut. The 1,200 who did not are watching from home, having earned nothing from the teams that released them two weeks ago. The commercial infrastructure that makes tonight worth hundreds of millions in broadcast revenue was built by all of them. The revenue framework distributes that value to the 53-man roster. It does not reach the players who helped produce it before August 26.

What direct fan monetization changes for athletes

That is the gap a direct athlete monetization platform is built to close. Not by replacing what the NFL pays its 53-man rosters, but by giving every athlete, including the ones fighting for the 53rd spot and the ones who did not make it, a mechanism to earn from the audience they have built regardless of what any roster decision says.

A direct fan relationship does not expire on August 26. A subscription channel does not get cut when the depth chart changes. Income built on audience relationships travels with the athlete, not with the team. For athletes who want to understand how direct fan monetization works, Thravos is built specifically around that model.

The athletes the NFL system leaves behind are not without audiences. They have followers, fans, and communities built across years of competition. What they lack is a mechanism to earn from those relationships independent of a roster spot. That mechanism exists on Thravos, where athletes can launch subscription channels, offer coaching, run fan competitions, and build direct income streams that do not depend on making a final 53-man roster.

The NFL season opens tonight. The top 10 contracts total over $1.5 billion. The 1,200 players cut two weeks ago are watching from home.

The question is not whether the gap exists. It is whether the athletes on the wrong side of it have a way to earn from what they have already built. Learn more at thravos.io.

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Disclaimer: This post may include forward-looking statements based on current expectations, plans, or projections. Actual results may differ due to various factors beyond our control. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research and use independent judgment when interpreting the information provided. All content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered professional advice.