NFL superstars find their fame and value being a victim of fumble recently. Take the example of NFL QBs like Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, or even Russell Wilson. Each of these players has a net worth of more than a couple of million dollars. In fact, Brady is continuing to build on his $300 million net worth even after retirement. On the other hand, Mahomes and Wilson still have a lot left in their tank. And apart from their off-field endorsements and sponsorships, they are set to earn a decent amount from their careers as footballers. 

But despite their million-dollar earnings, these rich NFL players failed to make it to a list of athletes with a combined worth of $1.209 billion. So what was this list about? 

Tom Brady, Mahomes, and Wilson are invisible on this list

Despite not being the highest-earning QB during his career, Tom Brady still acquired a pretty good sum from the NFL during his 23-season career. Apart from this, he has his own business ventures and endorsements, which draw in a couple of million dollars as well. Even Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes signed a monstrous 10-year $450 million extension in 2020, apart from his various sponsorships. And most recently, the Denver Broncos acquired Russell Wilson on a 5-year $245 million extension from the Seattle Seahawks. But despite these, all three of them failed to make an appearance on the list of athlete earnings in 2022.

Recently, Sports entrepreneur and content creator Andrew Petcash shared a graph on Twitter. The graph showcased the on and off-field earnings of athletes from various sports backgrounds in 2022. The list had prominent names such as soccer stars Cristiano Ronaldo(136 million), Lionel Messi(130 million), NBA legend LeBron James(120 million), Stephen Curry(100 million), and many other athletes. But what was interesting to notice is that the list did not contain the name of any NFL player, despite it being the richest sports league in the world with a valuation of $142.87 billion. 

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But do you know, despite being the richest league in the world, the NFL has the lowest average player salary?

The plight of NFL players’ salary

In America, the NFL is considered a part of the big four, which include the NBA, MLB, and NHL. In terms of valuation, the NFL stands at the top. But when it comes to player salaries, the league ranked third behind the NBA and the MLB. The NFL has an average player salary of $3.62 million, while the MLB and NBA enjoy $4.03 and $8.32 million respectively. Former MLB pitcher, Jacob Turner gave an insight into the intricacies of these numbers. He stated that the roster size of the league is a reason why the average salaries are low in the NFL. While an active NBA roster has 15 players, a team in the NFL houses around 53 players, which is “more mouths to feed.” 

For now, mostly QBs and veterans earn a fortune through their endorsements and sponsorships, apart from their NFL salaries. But in the future, it will be interesting to see whether the league decides to make changes to its existing laws so that all players earn a decent number by playing the highest tier of football in the country. 

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