2020 NFL All-Money Team: Highest Paid Players in the NFL

Offensive Line

“The big uglies” are the guys who make the play happen. It isn’t a glorious profession, oftentimes very painful and difficult. These guys play almost every snap of every game and are asked to block and push around some of the most explosive athletes on the planet. The money for top players in these positional groups is well-placed money. Without winning in the trenches, the quarterback is unprotected and creases for the running back to run the football are not created. Trust me, the NFL All-Money team strikes again.

Offensive Tackles: Laremy Tunsil, Miami Dolphins ($22M per year average); Lane Johnson ($18M per year average)

Laremy Tunsil is a left tackle, Lane Johnson is a right tackle. That worked out perfectly.

There is a difference between the two positions. The left tackle is the blindside protector (normally) for a quarterback. What that means is that when the quarterback is in the pocket looking to throw, he has his back to the left side if he throws right-handed. The left tackle’s job is to keep defenders from blasting an unsuspecting quarterback. Tunsil is one of the best in the game at protecting quarterbacks.

The right tackle is normally a run mauler, someone that the running back can follow as a lead blocker. That’s Lane Johnson, an incredibly athletic and versatile running back prospect. You have to love this guy and his ability to perform. In fact, he scored a 16 on the Approximate Value Chart (1 point per game) during the Eagles run to the playoffs.

Offensive Guards: Brandon Scherff, Washington Football Team ($15M per year average); Joe Thuney, New England Patriots ($14.781M per year average)

The guard is a tough position to play and gets almost no recognition (unless you are in New England, apparently). It’s still very important. Just look at the fact that the New England Patriots, who have been the masters of the salary cap and getting better value for the contracts that they work out with their players, are paying one of their guards a top-2 salary in the league. It’s a valuable position.

Brandon Scherff is one of the best guards in the game. His size (6-foot-5 and 315-pounds) is the ideal and perfect size for someone in that position. Unfortunately, he’s also missed 15 games in the last three seasons. It didn’t stop him from getting paid though, but when he’s not on the field there is an obvious difference.

Center: Ryan Kelly, Indianapolis Colts ($12.5M per year average)

Ryan Kelly was one of my favorite prospects coming out in the 2016 NFL Draft, from the University of Alabama. I saw a guy who was going to make a lot of money someday. I saw correctly, this is a guy who has been very valuable when healthy. Now, he has missed a total of 13 games over the last four seasons, but he produces an all-pro level caliber season when he is healthy for all 16 games. Kelly just recently agreed to a four-year $50M extension that made him the highest-paid center in the game.