The cost of milk and eggs has been a hot topic lately, but it feels like hyperinflation for salaries in the NFL.
Cowboys fans are well aware that quarterback Dak Prescott became the highest-paid player in NFL history after signing a four-year, $240 million contract extension. CeeDee Lamb also cashed in, becoming the second-highest-paid receiver after signing a four-year, $136 million extension.
Even before signing his record deal, Prescott had become the highest-paid player in Cowboys history, earning more than $161 million from Cowboys owner Jerry Jones entering this season.
Who’s next on the list of all-time cash earners among Cowboys players? Quarterback Tony Romo made more than $127 million during his 14-year career.
And what about Cowboys legends such as Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin and others? Did they miss out on the big bucks simply because they played in a different era?
The Dallas Morning News digs into the archives, with an assist from NFL salary cap website overthecap.com and the Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation calculator, to break down the franchise’s top earners of all time. We also look at the role television played in the massive growth of league revenue and the impact it had on player salaries.
In actual dollars earned, three-time Super Bowl champion Aikman ranks 10th on the list of highest-paid Cowboys of all time. Smith, the league’s all-time leading rusher, ranks 13th.
After adjusting for inflation, the Cowboys legends jump up the list. In 2024 dollars, Aikman checks in at more than $115 million, moving him to No. 5 on the list. Smith pocketed the equivalent of $97.3 million in 2024 money, moving him up to No 8.
Even with inflation adjustments, Prescott will make more money over the next two seasons than both Aikman and Smith made in total career earnings.
If Lamb plays out his contract — his extension kicks in next season — No. 88 will move up to third on the list, just behind Romo in career earnings.
The 88′s
No. 88 is the most storied number in Cowboys history. Pro Football Hall of Famer Drew Pearson was the first superstar to wear the iconic number. Pearson went undrafted out of Tulsa in 1973 and signed with the Cowboys for $14,500 — $107,000 in today’s dollars.
He was also paid a $150 cash signing bonus in his rookie year ($1,108 in 2024 money).
“They paid me in cash,” Pearson said. “They gave seven $20s and a $10. That’s how I got my signing bonus with the Cowboys.”
Before the 2000s, most NFL contracts were not made public. The details of Drew Pearson’s yearly contract numbers are not clear. According to the DMN archives, his highest annual salary was $225,000 in 1983. That’s worth $725,000 in today’s money.
Here’s a look at how that compares to the average yearly salary of some other famous No. 88s, adjusted to 2024 dollars.
It’s all about TV money
The explosion in NFL revenue can be attributed to the league’s skyrocketing deals for its television and broadcasting rights. NFL broadcasting rights alone bring in more revenue than the rights for MLB, NBA and NHL combined. As a result, NFL owners don’t have to rely nearly as much on ticket sales, merchandise or sponsors to clear big profits.
In 2021, the NFL agreed to a $10 billion-per-year deal with Amazon, CBS, ESPN/ABC, Fox and NBC for rights to televise games.
As TV revenue has risen, so has the size of the pie devoted to player salaries. Here’s a look at the league’s salary cap increases, adjusted for inflation:
TV revenue vs. the salary cap
The $10 billion rights deal is a lot of money, but the NFL hasn’t always been flush with TV money. Since the league implemented a salary cap in 1994 — making it the first league to do so — there have been a few years that the TV broadcasting rights were lower than the salary cap dollars available to each team.
Trailblazers
Before the big TV money came into play, Roger Staubach’s 1969 rookie salary was $25,000 ($221,000 in today’s money). His highest annual salary was $160,000 in 1979, the final year of his career. That’s worth $737,000 in 2024 dollars.
“Maybe at times I was naive in negotiating with Tex Schramm,” Staubach wrote about the Cowboys general manager in his autobiography. “Strictly on the basis of dollar signs it would look that way.”
Apparently, Staubach knew what he was doing. He now has an estimated net worth of $600 million.
Staubach’s career contract details are not fully known but here’s how his 1979 salary compares to other top Cowboys QBs average salaries, adjusted to 2024 dollars.
As a rookie in 1977, Tony Dorsett signed a five-year deal worth a reported $1.1 million. It was the first contract in Cowboys history to top $1 million. That’s over $5 million in 2024 dollars.
In 1985, The News reported details of Dorsett’s complicated new deal, which included a $450,000 salary per year, real estate, a retirement package and an annuity of $300,000 per year to be paid from 1995-2012. Adjusting that to today’s dollars, here’s an estimate of how Dorsett’s pay stacks up with other Cowboys top running backs.
Ezekiel Elliott’s current $2 million deal dropped his average Cowboys career salary by more than $1 million per season. His six-year, $90 million contract extension in 2019 made him the highest-paid running back in the NFL.
How big is Dak’s deal?
When Prescott’s current deal pays out, he will be among the highest-paid players of all time in the NFL, on par with some future Hall of Fame quarterbacks.
How does Prescott’s salary compare to other highly-paid people across the globe? The United States has, by far, the highest number of individuals with total net assets amounting to $50 million or more. Prescott will now be making more than that per year.
China has the second-highest number of people making $50 million or more of any country, with less than 33,000 individuals with assets amounting to 50 million American dollars or more. That’s roughly the population of Sachse.
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