The NFL’s highest-paid running backs in 2025 salary, guaranteed money and total contract value

Contrary to popular belief, running backs still matter in today’s NFL.

The tailback position has played host to a number of the sport’s finest talents. Their gaits dance through our collective memories — Gale Sayers galloped, Earl Campbell bulldozed and Barry Sanders slalomed.

And although the position has lost some of its luster in recent years, it remains valuable as ever, even if that’s not reflected in RBs’ paystubs.

Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry put forth monster campaigns in 2024, propelling the Eagls and Ravens to great success. Their displays, coupled with others from Jonathan Taylor, Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs, seem to suggest that the position still carries weight in the present day. Perhaps that will translate to increased wages in the years to come.

Football is an ever-changing sport. But the cream of the crop in the backfield still rises to the top. So, just who are the most valuable runners in the league in terms of salary? The Sporting News has the answers.

MORE: Everything to know about Jon Gruden’s controversial firing from Raiders

Which NFL running back has the highest salary?

There is no better way to measure a player’s salary than through average annual value (AAV). And no player is raking up more money annually than Barkley, Philadelphia’s slaloming talisman who became the ninth tailback in league history to rush for at least 2,000 yards in a single season in 2024. Barkley’s latest deal sees him earn $20.6 million annually, $1.6 million more than second-place Christian McCaffrey.

Two former AP Offensive Player of the Years — Henry ($15 million) and Taylor ($14 million) — trail Barkley and McCaffrey in the top-five, as does five-time Pro Bowler Alvin Kamara ($12.25 million). James Cook’s new deal sees him earn $12 million annually, the joint-sixth-best mark in the NFL.

Raiders rookie Ashton Jeanty lands just outside the top-10 with an AAV of just under $9 million. Other notable players outside the top-10 include the Panthers’ Chuba Hubbard ($8.3 million), the Falcons’ Robinson ($5,489,636) and the Lions’ Gibbs ($4,461,285).

With that, here are the highest-paid running backs by average annual value:

1. Saquon Barkley, RB, Eagles

• Annual salary: $20.6 million

Barkley agreed terms to a two-year, $41.2 million extension in the offseason, becoming the highest-paid RB in league history in the process.

Barkley’s contract set the market for his position. It’s hard to imagine him being surpassed anytime soon; his age, productivity and star power make him uniquely qualified to set atop the salary rankings, at least for the time being.

2. Christian McCaffrey, RB, 49ers

• Annual salary: $19 million

When McCaffrey is healthy, he’s got a case for the title of NFL’s best running back. The former wasn’t true in 2024; McCaffrey played in just four games, dealing with Achilles tendinitis in both ankles before being placed on the injured reserve with a PCL injury.

At 29, McCaffrey is rapidly approaching the typical sell-by date for running backs. He’s more than capable of producing at an All-Pro level — he landed MVP votes in 2023. Still, it’s unlikely McCaffrey will ever earn as much as he is now. Henry’s latest deal sees him earn $4 million less than McCaffrey annually. And his injury history is far more promising than that of San Francisco’s star RB.

MORE: Jerry Jones timeline of Cowboys contract disputes, from Emmitt Smith to Dak Prescott and Micah Parsons

3. Derrick Henry, RB, Ravens

• Annual salary: $15 million

Rumors of Henry’s demise were greatly exaggerated ahead of the 2024 season. Baltimore’s star RB fell just short of 2,000 yards in 2024, forming quite the dangerous tandem with star passer Lamar Jackson. He was summarily rewarded for his performances with a new-look contract, seeing his $8 million AAV paycheck rise to $15 million in 2025.

Age is obviously a concern for Henry. But even if he falls short of his 2024 marks, he still should rank as one of the league’s better runners in 2025. Jackson’s presence under center should aid him as he attempts to keep his sixth 1,000-yard campaign.

4. Jonathan Taylor, RB, Colts

• Annual salary: $14 million

Taylor returned to form after two injury-plagued seasons in 2022 and 2023, collecting 1,431 yard en route to his second Pro Bowl appearance. Indianapolis’ pass game has proven uninspiring in recent seasons. That doesn’t seem to have impacted Taylor’s productivity, though.

With just two years left on his deal, Taylor could land another glistening contract with a solid year — one that could surge him up the charts.

5. Alvin Kamara, RB, Saints

• Annual salary: $12.5 million

Kamara hasn’t quite been able to hit the heights of his wondrous first five seasons. He hasn’t received a lot of help at the quarterback position in recent seasons. Still, Kamara’s best years look firmly behind him. With New Orleans’ QB position once again in flux in 2025, expect Kamara to be tasked with spearheading the offense. Whether he’s capable of doing so at a high-level anymore remains to be seen.

MORE: How much money has Shedeur Sandesr made in career earnings, endorsements & more

Which NFL running back makes the most guaranteed money?

Barkley again leads the way in terms of guaranteed money, with $36 million — 87.3 percent of his contract — being guaranteed.

Jeanty, meanwhile, slots into No. 2 on the list, with the entirety of his rookie deal — all $35,895,812 — being guaranteed.

The top-10 includes established runners like Barkley, Henry ($25 million guaranteed) and McCaffrey ($24 million guaranteed) and budding first-round talents like Robinson ($21,958,544 guaranteed), Gibbs ($17,845,138) and the Chargers’ Omarion Hampton ($17,774,464). The undervalued nature of the position comes into focus in this environment with former Pro Bowlers Aaron Jones, Joe Mixon and Josh Jacobs seeing less than half of their total wages made guaranteed.

NFL RBs with the most guaranteed money

MORE: Inside Jalen Hurts’ career timeline from second-round pick to champion

Which NFL running back has the largest overall contract?

Barkley might be the sport’s best runner. But he isn’t the highest-paid tailback in terms of total contract value. That title belongs to Jacobs and Cook, who Green Bay and Buffalo inked to four-year, $48 million deals back in 2024 and 2025, respectively.

The Packers got creative with their accounting, making about a quarter of that total guaranteed. Nevertheless, he bests Taylor ($42 million) and Barkley ($41.2 million) in that category, having secured a longer-term deal than his counterparts. Cook, meanwhile, will take home most of his deal in Buffalo.

The running back position is fraught with uncertainty. That is reflected in the deals offered to tailbacks. Whereas quarterbacks typically land four- and five-year contracts, the running back ecosystem is pockmarked with two- and three-year deals. Does that help or hurt RBs? It’s hard to say, although the unwillingness of sides to offer long-term contracts replete with guarantees does seem to indicate that it might be more beneficial for RBs to rack up multiple shorter-term deals. At least, that’s what Barkley and Henry did, parlaying two-year contracts and successful campaigns into more money in 2025.

Largest NFL RB contracts

Which NFL running back has the highest career earnings?

McCaffrey holds the title of the NFL’s wealthiest active RB, netting a little more than $80 million in career earnings. He’s still trailing Adrian Peterson on the all-time charts, though; Peterson spearheads the list of RB career earnings leaders, having racked up more than $100 million over the course of his career.

Henry ($67.5 million) and Barkley ($63.2 million) are within striking distance of the top-three all-time in career earnings. As long as they keep their health, they should place highly in the rankings by the time their careers are all said and done.

Highest career earnings for NFL RBs