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.
