Out of the 50 best-paid sports stars in 2025, Forbes’ recent list showed that 13 of them were NFL players. This makes American football the second-best represented sport, with the NBA being the only one having more players in the top 50.
This underlines just how much money there is within the NFL and how well players are paid. But are teams actually getting value for the money that they are paying the players?
We at InGame have delved into NFL players’ salaries and see if their performances match the money they are getting paid. Comparing every player’s salary to their key performance statistics, we see who the best value for money players were during the 2025 regular season.
Best Value for Money Quarterback
While the best-paid quarterback in the NFL is Patrick Mahomes, does he play as well as his salary might indicate? We analyzed quarterbacks on their passing yards and the number of touchdowns they threw to work out if they are worth their wage. Here are our top three best value quarterbacks:
#1 Bo Nix (Denver Broncos)
Index Score: 100
Topping our ranking as the best value for money quarterback is Bo Nix, who is paid $2,487,106. Nix helped the Denver Broncos win the AFC West and make it all the way to the AFC Championship game, earning a 14-3 regular season record along the way. During the 2025 regular season, Nix contributed 25 touchdowns and had 3,931 passing yards, proving to be the most cost-effective quarterback.
#2 Drake Maye (New England Patriots)
Index Score: 94.2
Coming in as the next best value for money quarterback is Drake Maye for the New England Patriots. The 2025 regular season saw Maye complete 4,394 passing yards and score 31 touchdowns throughout, showing he is worth his $4,125,888 salary. He helped the Patriots reach the playoffs and has taken them all the way to the Super Bowl. Talk about value!
#3 Shedeur Sanders (Cleveland Browns)
Index Score: 90.2
Finalizing the top three quarterbacks is Shedeur Sanders who earns $1,005,000. Finishing in fourth place in the AFC North, the Cleveland Browns missed out on the playoffs with five wins and 12 losses. That said, Sanders still made seven touchdowns and completed 1,400 passing yards, proving to be well worth his salary.
Best Value for Money Wide Receiver
Similar to the quarterbacks, we judged wide receivers on key statistics, this time using their receiving yards and the number of touchdowns they scored to measure their value. Let’s take a look at our top three:
#1 Ryan Flournoy (Dallas Cowboys)
Index Score: 100
Ryan Flournoy is the wide receiver most worth their money, with a salary of $1,075,000. Accumulating 475 receiving yards in the 2025 regular season and making four touchdowns, Flournoy was a part of the Dallas Cowboys team that finished second in the NFC East. Unfortunately, with seven wins, nine losses, and one tie, the team didn’t manage to qualify for the playoffs.
#2 Troy Franklin (Denver Broncos)
Index Score: 96.25
Joining his teammate Bo Nix on this list, Troy Franklin is another player who provides great value. Earning $1,075,000 and managing to rack up 709 receiving yards and six touchdowns during the regular season, Franklin has proven to be a steal in relation to his salary. He was also another helping hand to the Broncos side that reached the AFC Championship game.
#3 Kayshon Boutte (New England Patriots)
Index Score: 95.56
Rounding out the most value-packed wide receivers is Kayshon Boutte with the New England Patriots. Boutte earns a salary of $1,145,000 and made six touchdowns alongside accruing 551 receiving yards during the 2025 regular season. Like Drake Maye, Boutte contributed to the Patriots’ successful regular season that saw them make it all the way to the Super Bowl.
Best Value for Money Running Back
Moving on to running backs, we based their value off rushing yards and the number of touchdowns they scored. With the highest-earning running back, Saquon Barkley, getting paid $17,000,000, does he still provide value for that kind of salary?
#1 Jacory Croskey-Merritt (Washington Commanders)
Index Score: 100
Presenting the best value for his position is Jacory Croskey-Meritt at the Washington Commanders, earning $1,005,000. Completing 805 rushing yards and making eight touchdowns, Croskey-Merritt was part of the Washington Commanders team that finished third in the NFC East. Despite Croskey-Merritt’s being so cost-effective, he couldn’t quite help his team reach the playoffs, with 12 losses and just five wins.
#2 Chase Brown (Cincinnati Bengals)
Index Score: 93.6
Next up is Chase Brown, who earns $1,145,000 for the Cincinnati Bengals. Brown was able to accumulate 1,019 rushing yards and made six touchdowns during the 2025 regular season, helping the Bengals to third place in the AFC North. Though Brown had an impressive output, the team only managed six wins, succumbing to 11 losses, leaving them out of the playoffs this time around.
#3 TreVeyon Henderson (New England Patriots)
Index Score: 90.4
The third-best value running back in the NFL is TreVeyon Henderson, adding another New England Patriots player to this list. Earning $1,346,511, Henderson and the Patriots reached the Super Bowl after winning the AFC East. With 911 rushing yards made and nine touchdowns completed, he certainly produced an output that is worth his salary.
Best Value for Money Defensive End
Now looking at the defensive ends in the NFL, we based their value on different stats entirely. Here we analyzed the number of tackles (combined) they made and the number of sacks they achieved to get our rankings.
#1 Austin Booker (Chicago Bears)
Index Score: 100
On a salary of $1,075,000, Austin Booker has shown significant worth in his performances by completing 4.5 sacks and making 35 total tackles. With the Chicago Bears reaching the playoffs and topping the NFC North, winning 11 games and losing six, Booker had a great regular season in 2025.
#2 James Houston (Dallas Cowboys)
Index Score: 84.9
With 5.5 sacks and 35 tackles made, James Houston has been the next best value for money defensive end. On a wage of $1,145,000, Houston was another contributor to the Dallas Cowboys’ solid season that saw them come second in the NFC East division.
#3 Laiatu Latu (Indianapolis Colts)
Index Score: 90.2
The final defensive end on our list is Laiatu Latu, who managed to make 8.5 sacks and 45 tackles on a salary of $2,343,354. Despite their excellent value performances, Latu and the Indianapolis Colts still only managed to finish third in the AFC South division, with a record of eight wins and nine losses.
Best Value for Money Defensive Tackle
The final category of players that we will look at is the defensive tackles. When determining their value for money, like the defensive ends, we looked into the number of tackles (combined) and the number of sacks completed.
#1 Jonah Laulu (Las Vegas Raiders)
Index Score: 100
Coming out on top for the defensive tackles is Jonah Laulu for the Las Vegas Raiders, earning a salary of $1,075,000. Combining this with 51 tackles and four sacks, he has definitely provided a solid output in comparison to his salary. The Raiders, however, finished fourth in the AFC West, with just three wins and 14 losses.
#2 Justin Eboigbe (LA Chargers)
Index Score: 96.8
Justin Eboigbe is next up, and is another player proving to be cost-effective. Earning a salary of $1,075,000, he racked up 39 tackles and achieved six sacks across the regular season, with the LA Chargers ending up second place in the AFC West division after 11 wins and six losses.
#3 Byron Young (Philadelphia Eagles)
Index Score: 94.4
Byron Young is the final player on our list, with a salary of $1,523,006 while playing for the Philadelphia Eagles. The defensive back made 37 tackles and 2.5 sacks in the Eagles’ regular season campaign, where they finished first in the NFC East division after 11 wins and six losses.
It turns out that the highest-paid players don’t offer the best value
Although the NFL sees massive sums of cash being spent on some of the biggest and best players in the sport, this study seems to show that the best value doesn’t come from the highest-paid stars. There is a stark difference in value between Patrick Mahomes getting paid $56,750,000 and the highest-paid player on our list, Drake Maye, with a salary of $4,125,888.
So, despite the headlines focusing on the big names and contracts, the greatest value can be discovered in the players who consistently overperform and deliver above their price tags. These players show that efficiency is every bit as important as star power and demonstrate an interesting trend relating to the money spent on players in the NFL.
Methodology
- All the salary data was collected from Spotrac.
- All the performance data was collected from the NFL website.
We compared every NFL player’s salary to their key performance statistics to determine the best value for money players in their position during the 2025 regular season.
For example, Quarterbacks were analyzed on their passing yards and the number of touchdowns they threw. This performance data was then weighed and offset against the salary data to determine which players provide great value to their respective teams.
