Sports
Patrick Mahomes Tops NFL Earnings For 2025 Amid Chiefs’ Super Bowl Loss

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Patrick Mahomes, quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs, has once again been named the NFL’s highest-paid player for 2025, despite his team finishing short in their Super Bowl push against the Philadelphia Eagles in February. Mahomes’s total earnings of $80 million include a $50 million salary from the Chiefs and approximately $30 million from endorsements.
This marks Mahomes’s second time in three years holding the title. He leads fellow AFC quarterbacks Josh Allen and Justin Herbert, who made $73 million and $71 million, respectively. The overall earnings for the top 20 NFL players have dropped by 10% since last year, totaling an estimated $1 billion.
Mahomes’s marketability is unmatched, partly thanks to his impressive record of three Super Bowl titles and two MVP awards. In 2024, he starred in the most advertisements during NFL games, with 423 spots, far ahead of retired legend Peyton Manning’s 318. His endorsement roster includes Adidas, Coors Light, and State Farm, and he has recently added deals with Panini and Hublot.
In addition to sports, Mahomes has diversified his portfolio. He owns stakes in several teams, including the MLB‘s Kansas City Royals and MLS’s Sporting KC, and he launched a ready-to-drink iced coffee brand last year. His teammate Travis Kelce, who has become a household name due to his relationship with pop star Taylor Swift, ranks seventh with earnings of $49 million, consisting of a $17.25 million salary and $32 million in endorsements.
The NFL’s earning landscape in 2025 is heavily dominated by quarterbacks, with 15 of the top 20 players being signal-callers. The league remains lucrative, with the average franchise value hitting $7.13 billion. In contrast, the NFL players significantly lag behind their NBA counterparts, who reportedly earned around $1.4 billion last season.
As the season unfolds, Mahomes continues to embrace his role as the league’s highest earner and a marketable star on and off the field, indicating that he remains a key player in both ownership and endorsements.