The Biggest Bargain Player at Every Position in the NFL

The NFL has no shortage of highly paid players, headlined by Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott at $60 million a season.

It isn't the NBA, where two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder clears $68 million a season. Or MLB, where Shohei Ohtani clears an even $70 million a season with the Los Angeles Dodgers. But the NFL has something those leagues do not: a hard salary cap.

And while contracts can be structured in a way that kicks cap hits down the road, the reality in the NFL is that every highly paid superstar on the roster means less roster flexibility around him.

That makes finding values all the more crucial—players whose importance on the field far outweighs their relatively meager salaries. Players on rookie contracts who afford teams the luxury (if only temporarily) of spending around them.

Those are the players that turn bad teams into good teams and good teams into great teams. Bargains that can put a franchise over the top.

And in 2026, there isn't a bigger bargain in the NFL at each position than these young stars.

Average annual salaries courtesy of Spotrac.

QB: Drake Maye, New England Patriots

AP Photo/Julio Cortez

Average Annual Salary: $9.2 million

There's no better feeling than having a star quarterback on a rookie contract. The roster flexibility it affords teams can make all the difference in the world.

The New England Patriots should enjoy that feeling—because if Drake Maye has another season in 2026 like he did last year, he's not going to be making less than $10 million a season much longer.

The 23-year-old showed flashes as a rookie, but he exploded in his second season. The second overall pick in the 2024 draft was fourth in the NFL in passing yards with 4,394. His 31 touchdown passes checked in third in the league.

Maye led the league in completion percentage (72.0), yards per attempt (8.9), air yards per attempt (9.5) and passer rating (113.5). He was named to his first Pro Bowl and finished second in MVP voting behind Matthew Stafford of the Los Angeles Rams.

Oh, and he led the Patriots to 14 regular-season wins, an AFC East title and a berth in Super Bowl LX.

RB: Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions

AP Photo/Ryan Sun

Average Annual Salary: $4.5 million

The running back position may be devalued in today's NFL, but there are a few players at the position making the big bucks—three backs currently have an annual average salary of over $15 million.

Soon enough, there will be some new names added to that club, and you can count Jahmyr Gibbs of the Detroit Lions among them.

In his three NFL seasons, the 24-year-old has quickly become one of the NFL's most explosive and dangerous ball-carriers. In each of those seasons, he has topped 1,200 total yards. He has surpassed 1,800 total yards each of the past two years.

Gibbs has averaged a whopping 13 rushing touchdowns a season in the NFL, he has averaged a robust 5.3 yards per carry for his career and he has never had fewer than 52 receptions in a season, including 77 in 2025.

The wildest part? We may not have seen his best yet. With David Montgomery no longer in Motown, Gibbs could be headed toward the heaviest workload of his career in 2026.

WR: Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams

AP Photo/Brian Westerholt

Average Annual Salary: $1 million

There is no bigger bargain on this list than the relative pittance the Los Angeles Rams are paying wide receiver Puka Nacua.

It's also a bargain that could expire just about any time. Nacua is eligible for an extension, and when he signs one he will likely challenge Seattle receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba's $42.2 million a season.

For now though, Nacua will make about a million dollars in 2026—and that's precious little for the massive impact he makes on the football field.

After being drafted in the fifth round in 2023, all Nacua did was set a new record for receiving yards by a rookie with 1,485. Last season he was even better. He led the NFL with 129 catches despite missing a game, piled up 1,715 receiving yards and found the end zone 10 times.

After three years, Nacua is averaging 95.3 receiving yards per game.

No pass-catcher in NFL history has averaged more.

TE: Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders

AP Photo/Ashley Landis

Average Annual Salary: $4.5 million

In recent seasons, little has gone well for the Las Vegas Raiders. But the selection of tight end Brock Bowers 13th overall in 2024 is a glaring exception to all that misery.

Bowers' 2025 season was a step back—he missed five games and caught 64 passes for 680 yards and seven touchdowns. But as a rookie, he was a force of nature. He was targeted a whopping 153 times—sixth-most of any player in the NFL.

Bowers caught 112 of those targets for 1,194 yards. The latter was the most receiving yards ever by a rookie tight end. The former was the most catches in a rookie season by, well, anyone.

A year ago, Trey McBride of the Arizona Cardinals received an extension averaging $19 million a season. With Bowers heading into a third season where he will be the focal point of the Vegas passing attack, he could easily be the first tight end to receive $20 million a season a year from now.

OT: Paris Johnson, Arizona Cardinals

AP Photo

Average Annual Salary: $7 million

This is yet another outstanding young player for whom the term "bargain" has an expiration date—the former Ohio State standout will make just over $19 million in 2027 on his fifth-year option.

While speaking to reporters, Arizona general manager Monti Ossenfort said the decision to pick up Johnson's option was an easy one.

"Paris is a great example of what we want our locker room to be about," he said. "I think he's still ascending as a player, so we were very excited to let him know we will pick that up. Paris is a guy we want around here for a long time. All I know is that we got him for that fifth year."

The sixth overall pick in 2023, Johnson has yet to make it to a Pro Bowl. But he's an ascending young blindside protector who graded as a top-20 tackle last year per PFF both in pass protection and among tackles overall.

IOL: Peter Skoronski, Tennessee Titans

AP Photo/Rick Scuteri

Average Annual Salary: $4.9 million

After being taken 11th overall in 2023, Peter Skoronski's first two NFL seasons were admittedly a little bumpy.

But as Zoltan Buday noted for PFF, the lightbulb appeared to come on late in the 2024 season—and last year, that light became almost blinding:

"Skoronski's finish to the 2024 season was more than encouraging. Between Weeks 12 and 18, Tennessee's left guard led all players at the position in PFF pass-blocking grade (88.2). Sustaining that level of play into the following season is never guaranteed, but the former first-round pick did exactly that in 2025. Skoronski ranked second among all guards in PFF pass-blocking grade (84.5) and allowed a knockdown—a sack or quarterback hit—on just 0.4% of pass plays, a rate tied for third best among 59 qualifying guards."

Of course, with improved play comes increased pay. Skoronski will earn over $19 million on the fifth-year option in 2027, and when he is extended he'll be one of the highest-paid interior linemen in the league.

Edge: Byron Young, Los Angeles Rams

AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin

Average Annual Salary: $1.4 million

Los Angeles Rams general manager Les Snead had better make sure he has a good pen and a whole lot of cap space, because Puka Nacua isn't the only young player on the team who is headed toward a monster payday.

Byron Young's first two seasons in Los Angeles were good but not great. The third-round pick out of Tennessee posted at least 60 total tackles and at least 7.5 sacks in each of those campaigns.

Last year was another story. Young took his game to an entirely new level in 2025—he logged 82 total tackles, added 12 sacks and had almost as many quarterback hits (29) as in his first two seasons combined on the way to the first Pro Bowl of his career.

Now, Young enters a contract year as a key component of one of the league's most formidable defensive fronts. If his numbers in 2026 are anything like last year's, the 28-year-old's second contract could average well over $30 million a season.

DT: Jalen Carter, Philadelphia Eagles

AP Photo/Chris Szagola

Average Annual Salary: $5.5 million

You may be noticing a theme here—a lot of the bargains listed here won't be bargains much longer.

That's the case with Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter as well. The Eagles have already picked up the fifth-year option on the 25-year-old, who will make a whopping $27.1 million in 2027 if he isn't extended before then.

While addressing the media, Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio lauded the impact Carter makes between the lines.

"He disrupts the game, he's smart, and he plays hard," he said. "There aren't many like him out there and I'm glad he's on our side."

A Pro Bowler after each of the past two seasons, Carter has logged 108 total tackles, 25 tackles for loss and 13.5 sacks over his three years with the Eagles. And as is the case with many interior linemen, the stats don't truly do Carter justice.

He's a force inside—and a real problem for opposing offenses.

LB: Cedric Gray, Tennessee Titans

AP Photo/Kirk Irwin

Average Annual Salary: $1.2 million

There are more than a few bargain options at the linebacker position kicking around the NFL right now. The reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year (Carson Schwesinger of the Cleveland Browns) is making just $3 million in 2027.

But where bang for their buck is concerned, it's hard to top Cedric Gray of the Tennessee Titans.

After playing sparingly as a rookie (just 48 snaps), the 23-year-old was pressed into the starting lineup in Tennessee last year—and he blew up.

For the season, Gray tallied a whopping 164 total tackles (97 solos)—good for fourth in the NFL. His coverage numbers admittedly weren't great, but in terms of passer rating against, he was slightly better than Schwesinger in 2025.

With the Titans potentially starting a rookie at linebacker this year in Anthony Hill Jr., the North Carolina product could be called upon to play more of a leadership role for the Titans defensively in Year 3.

And if he tops 150 tackles again, Gray is going to be due for a whopper of a raise in 2027.

CB: Cooper DeJean, Philadelphia Eagles

AP Photo/Terrance Williams

Average Annual Salary: $2.3 million

In today's NFL, versatility in the secondary is king. And given his ability to play all over the formation, that makes Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean a highly valuable asset.

A second-round pick out of Iowa in 2024, DeJean had his coming out party for the Eagles a year ago. In 16 starts, he proved to be equally stout against the run and in pass coverage.

The 23-year-old totaled 93 total tackles for the season, intercepted a pair of passes and posted a rock-solid passer rating against of 75.4 on the way to being named both a Pro Bowler and a first-team All-Pro.

While talking to reporters, DeJean said last year's breakout was just the beginning:

"As a football player, that's the name of the game, always trying to improve and evolve your game and grow it, finding new tactics on the field that can make you better, that you can throw off other guys with. So, yeah, it has been a good off-season trying to just continue to grow as a player and get stronger and make this next season better than the last one was."

If he thinks this was a good offseason, wait until he sees what happens a year from now if he backs up his 2025 numbers.

S: Calen Bullock, Houston Texans

AP Photo/Maria Lysaker

Average Annual Salary: $1.5 million

The Houston Texans possess arguably the best defense in the NFL—a loaded unit that features stars like edge-rusher Will Anderson Jr. and cornerback Derek Stingley Jr.

Third-year safety Calen Bullock doesn't have that level of notoriety yet. But if the 23-year-old former third-round pick out of USC keeps playing like he has over his first two seasons, Bullock's star turn is coming.

It didn't take long for Bullock to work his way into the starting lineup—he made 13 starts as a rookie, intercepting five passes and chipping in 54 total tackles. His second season as a full-time starter was almost identical—44 total stops, four picks and double-digit passes defensed for the second straight year.

That second season got Bullock the first Pro Bowl nod of his career, and he has been excellent in coverage—his career passer rating against is just 52.4, and Bullock has allowed less than 48 percent of the passes thrown in his direction to be completed.