What Each NFL Position Costs
Pay measured as a share of the salary cap, so a deal signed in 2013 is comparable with one signed in 2026 even though the cap has roughly doubled between them. The fastest-rising market is right tackle; the clearest decline is center.
Average share of the cap, 2013-16 against 2023-26
| Position | 2013-16 | 2023-26 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Right tackle RT | 3.86% | 5.69% | +47% |
| Interior D-line IDL | 4.32% | 5.72% | +32% |
| Wide receiver WR | 4.84% | 6.29% | +30% |
| Edge rusher ED | 4.93% | 6.24% | +26% |
| Left guard LG | 3.55% | 4.40% | +24% |
| Right guard RG | 4.25% | 5.23% | +23% |
| Cornerback CB | 4.43% | 5.34% | +20% |
| Running back RB | 3.46% | 4.01% | +16% |
| Left tackle LT | 5.62% | 6.04% | +7% |
| Quarterback QB | 8.93% | 9.52% | +7% |
| Safety S | 4.25% | 4.32% | flat |
| Tight end TE | 3.94% | 3.92% | flat |
| Linebacker LB | 3.79% | 3.72% | flat |
| Kicker K | 2.49% | 2.29% | -8% |
| Center C | 4.57% | 3.95% | -14% |
Year by year, so you can see the noise
| Pos | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RT | 4.5 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 5.0 | 2.8 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 8.6 | 4.7 | 5.5 | 7.3 | 4.5 | 6.1 |
| IDL | 3.8 | 4.1 | 4.8 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 4.9 | 4.0 | 4.8 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 5.6 | 5.9 | 4.6 | 6.7 |
| WR | 5.3 | 3.6 | 5.5 | 5.4 | 4.9 | 5.6 | 5.3 | 6.5 | 5.3 | 7.8 | 3.2 | 7.2 | 6.4 | 6.9 |
| ED | 4.8 | 5.3 | 5.0 | 4.7 | 5.4 | 4.5 | 6.1 | 6.2 | 5.5 | 5.8 | 5.7 | 5.6 | 7.0 | 6.6 |
| LG | 3.3 | 2.8 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 4.9 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 4.8 | 5.1 | 3.5 | 4.3 | 5.2 | 4.2 |
| RG | 3.3 | 3.4 | 4.3 | 5.6 | 5.3 | 4.8 | 3.7 | 4.8 | 4.6 | 4.3 | 5.6 | 6.0 | 4.9 | 4.2 |
| CB | 3.9 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 5.0 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 5.1 | 4.0 | 5.6 | 4.1 | 5.7 | 5.6 | 5.7 |
| RB | 2.9 | 2.8 | 4.3 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 4.9 | 3.9 | 3.0 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 4.2 |
| LT | 5.8 | 5.0 | 6.3 | 5.7 | 5.8 | 5.6 | 5.8 | 6.6 | 6.5 | 5.5 | 5.7 | 5.6 | 6.5 | 6.4 |
| QB | 9.6 | 8.0 | 8.7 | 9.3 | 7.0 | 9.1 | 9.7 | 9.5 | 6.7 | 12.8 | 10.4 | 10.1 | 7.6 | 9.7 |
| S | 4.1 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 3.2 | 5.3 | 4.4 | 5.5 | 5.2 | 3.9 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 3.9 |
| TE | 3.7 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 3.8 |
| LB | 3.7 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 5.0 | 4.2 | 5.7 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 4.0 |
| K | 2.8 | 2.3 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 2.2 | -- | 2.3 |
| C | 3.3 | 3.9 | 6.1 | 5.5 | 5.0 | 4.1 | 5.2 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 5.1 |
Method
Every contract signed since 2013 worth at least 2% of that season's salary cap, grouped by position, averaged as a share of the cap. Contracts spanning a trade are counted once. The threshold is deliberately absolute rather than “the top N deals”: the number of contracts on file grows over time as coverage of cheaper veteran deals improved, so a top-N or percentile cut would compare a broad early slice against a narrow recent one and invent a rise at almost every position.
The check that the threshold works: the qualifying population is flat at 174–218 deals a year (1.25× spread) with no trend. A position needs at least eight deals in both eras to appear.