Titans' Derrick Henry joins list of highest paid NFL players at every position in 2022 by cash earnings

Jacob Camenker

Titans' Derrick Henry joins list of highest paid NFL players at every position in 2022 by cash earnings image

Derrick Henry's bag just got a bit bigger.

The Titans running back agreed to a restructured contract on Thursday that adds $2 million in new money for 2022 without any additional years. The bump in salary this season officially makes him the highest-paid player at his position league-wide.

Before Henry and the Titans struck a new deal, the 28-year-old was set to make $12 million in cash during the 2022 NFL season. Now, he will be making $14 million, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

There are only three running backs set to make more than $10 million in 2022 with Henry joining Ezekiel Elliott ($12.4 million) and Alvin Kamara ($11.5 million).

MORE: NFL's highest-paid QBs for 2022 in AAV, total salary, guarantees

Of course, it's important to note that what Henry is being paid in 2022 is the cash value of his deal. Often, NFL teams, media and analysts live to use average annual value (AAV) to give a better picture of the contract's worth over time.

Why is AAV the most common metric used? It's because it most accurately reflects the worth of a contract. NFL contracts are easy to manipulate, so teams often like to give hefty signing bonuses. This allows them to prorate a portion of the signing bonus over a multi-year span which lowers the cap hit of the player's contract in the early stages of the deal.

That also can create cash vs. cap hit imbalances. Those tend to benefit the player — who gets a large chunk of the money up front — and the team, which can account for the player at a lower rate to add other assets to the squad, so they are created frequently.

Of course, this process also makes for some eye-popping cash value fees that are paid to a player in any given year. The $14 million given to Henry isn't that extreme of an example compared to the cash that some other players on big deals are raking in during the 2022 season.

So, who are the highest-paid players of the 2022 season by their cash value only? Below is a position-by-position breakdown of that after Henry's new contract.

MORE: The NFL's 25 highest-paid players by AAV in 2022

Highest-paid NFL players of 2022 by cash earnings

All cash earnings numbers for 2022 are per Spotrac.com.

Quarterbacks

Thanks to a $60 million signing bonus, Stafford takes home the honors of the NFL's top-paid player in 2022. His base salary with the Rams is just $1.5 million in both 2022 and 2023, before jumping to $31 million in 2024.

Player Team 2022 cash earnings
Matthew Stafford Rams $61,500,000
Josh Allen Bills $46,961,405
Deshaun Watson Browns $45,367,500
Aaron Rodgers Packers $42,000,000
Kirk Cousins Vikings $40,000,000

Running backs

Henry takes the top spot among running backs from Ezekiel Elliott, but sits at just 108th league-wide across all positions.

Player Team 2022 cash earnings
Derrick Henry Titans $14,000,000
Ezekiel Elliott Cowboys $12,400,000
Alvin Kamara Saints $11,500,000
Dalvin Cook Vikings $8,900,000
Joe Mixon Bengals $8,700,000

Wide receivers

DK Metcalf barely edges out Cooper Kupp with cash earnings of $31.0 million. Like Stafford, almost all of his 2022 cash comes via signing bonus ($30.0 million). Metcalf will earn $1.0 million in base salary this season.

Player Team 2022 cash earnings
DK Metcalf Seahawks $31,000,000
Cooper Kupp Rams $30,000,000
Terry McLaurin Commanders $29,479,000
Mike Williams Chargers $28,000,000
Tyreek Hill Dolphins $26,635,000

Tight ends

Mark Andrews is in the second year of a four-year, $56 million contract that includes $37.5 million in guaranteed money. One name missing in the table below? Travis Kelce. The Chiefs' top target will haul in $10.5 million in 2022, 8th among tight ends.

Player Team 2022 cash earnings
Mark Andrews Ravens $19,000,000
David Njoku Browns $12,500,000
George Kittle 49ers $11,961,754
Mike Gesicki Dolphins $10,931,000
Dalton Schultz Cowboys $10,931,000

Offensive lines

Tasked with protecting Kyler Murray's blindside — important given the Cardinals just forked over $189 million in guaranteed money to their franchise quarterback — Arizona left tackle D.J. Humphries comes in as the NFL's highest-paid offensive lineman in 2022.

Player Team 2022 cash earnings
D.J. Humphries Cardinals $21,065,594
Frank Ragnow Lions $20,751,529
Ryan Ramczyk Saints $19,241,608
David Bakhtiari Packers $18,551,836
Brian O'Neill Vikings $18,000,000

MORE: NFL's highest-paid defensive players of the 2022 season

Defensive ends

A rookie at the top spot? Such is the way this works in a world of lucrative signing bonuses. The stud rookie out of Michigan netted a whopping $23.2 million with his signing bonus.

Player Team 2022 cash earnings
Aidan Hutchinson Lions $23,858,372
Von Miller Bills $19,970,000
Leonard Williams Giants $19,000,000
Myles Garrett Browns $19,000,000
Chandler Jones Raiders $17,412,000

Defensive tackles

The NFL's best defensive player is also the highest earner in 2022. Fresh off winning a Super Bowl, Donald inked a 3-year, $95 million dollar contract with the Rams.

Player Team 2022 cash earnings
Aaron Donald Rams $31,500,000
Chris Jones Chiefs $22,374,000
Grady Jarrett Falcons $17,970,000
DeForest Buckner Colts $16,000,000
Kenny Clark Packers $15,867,647

Linebackers

Another position that includes edge rushers, another rookie. Walker is set to receive his $25 million in guarantees during his rookie season, so he will earn just over a million more than Watt, the 2021 Defensive Player of the Year. Meanwhile, Landry tore his ACL at Titans practice on the final day of August and it remains to be seen whether that will impact his earnings. 

Player Team 2022 cash earnings
Travon Walker Jaguars $25,065,088
T.J. Watt Steelers $24,000,000
Joey Bosa Chargers $21,250,000
Kayvon Thibodeaux Giants $20,677,028
Harold Landry Titans $20,250,000

Cornerbacks

Two more top-five draft picks — Stingley and Gardner — are among the highest-paid players in the NFL for 2022. But the duo are behind Alexander, who just inked an extension with the Packers, Jackson — who signed with the Chargers in free agency — and Lattimore, who restructured his deal with the Saints in March.

For those wondering, Jalen Ramsey, who graded as Pro Football Focus' No. 1 cornerback in 2021, is making $15 million in cash this year. That's just the ninth-most in that category among corners.

Player Team 2022 cash earnings
Jaire Alexander Packers $31,076,000
J.C. Jackson Chargers $28,000,000
Marshon Lattimore Saints $24,103,000
Derek Stingley Jr. Texans $23,090,464
Ahmad Gardner Jets $22,212,856

Safeties

James just signed the richest safety contract in NFL history, so it's no surprise to see him rank first among players at this position. Fitzpatrick, Simmons and Adams all inked recent extensions too while Williams signed with the Ravens in free agency this offseason.

Player Team 2022 cash earnings
Derwin James Chargers $24,584,000
Minkah Fitzpatrick Steelers $22,124,235
Marcus Williams Ravens $16,000,000
Justin Simmons Broncos $15,100,000
Jamal Adams Seahawks $14,440,000

Kickers

Three kickers are tied for fourth in cash this year while Boswell Koo and Tucker are setting the pace at the position. Tucker remains the cream of the crop at kicker and the highest paid overall, but Boswell signed a big-time extension very recently. That's why he will make nearly $10 million in 2022.

Player Team 2022 cash earnings
Chris Boswell Steelers $9,861,180
Younghoe Koo Falcons $8,000,000
Justin Tucker Ravens $6,750,000
Robbie Gould 49ers $4,000,000
Jake Elliott Eagles $4,000,000
Jason Myers Seahawks $4,000,000

Punters

Punters remain the lowest earners in the NFL. Nobody loves special teams more than Bill Belichick, so it's no surprise to see Jake Bailey topping the punter cash-earning rankings for 2022.

Player Team 2022 cash earnings
Jake Bailey Patriots $4,500,000
Bryan Anger Cowboys $3,800,000
Johnny Hekker Panthers $3,120,000
Michael Dickson Seahawks $3,083,059
Cameron Johnston Texans $2,500,000

The numbers on these deals should give you a better idea of why NFL teams tend to use AAV as the preferred metric to evaluate a contract. Most yearly earnings are heavily impacted by signing bonuses, and the largest of those often belong to the players that signed the most recent extensions.

That's why Stafford is set to make so much during the 2022 NFL season; he signed a lucrative extension with the Rams during the offseason. Part of that was adding value to his current contract through a $60 million signing bonus which is the driving force behind his overall cash earnings of $61.5 million in 2022.

The same is true for rookies. They sign fully guaranteed contracts when they enter the NFL which contain large signing bonuses. As such, Hutchinson is the top earner at the defensive end spot because he is being given what is, essentially, the full value of his four-year rookie deal with the Lions up front.

With that said, it's fun to look at the players with the highest cash earnings in any given season. However, it doesn't tell us much about their abilities; it mostly just reveals which players have signed the most recent, and most lucrative, extensions.

Jacob Camenker

Jacob Camenker Photo

Jacob Camenker first joined The Sporting News as a fantasy football intern in 2018 after his graduation from UMass. He became a full-time employee with TSN in 2021 and now serves as a senior content producer with a particular focus on the NFL. Jacob worked at NBC Sports Boston as a content producer from 2019 to 2021. He is an avid fan of the NFL Draft and ranked 10th in FantasyPros’ Mock Draft Accuracy metric in both 2021 and 2022.