Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott and Tampa Bay counterpart Tom Brady will square off in the NFL’s season opener Thursday night.
The Cowboys star already holds a sizable lead over the Buccaneers legend when it comes to their wallets, however.
According to Forbes magazine, Prescott is the league’s highest-earning player so far in 2021 with $87 million. Brady ranks No. 2 with $72.5 million, per the figures reported by the publication on Friday.
Prescott, 28, received a record $66 million signing bonus when he signed a four-year, $160 million deal with Dallas in March. His pretax earnings include $12 million from endorsements.
Brady, 44, has the bragging rights when it comes to endorsements. Coming off his seventh Super Bowl title, he has supplemented his $27.5 million in on-field earnings with $45 million in endorsement deals.
Seven of the top 10 spots in the Forbes rankings are quarterbacks.
Trailing Prescott and Brady are Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes ($44.8M), Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers ($33.4M), San Francisco offensive tackle Trent Williams ($33.3M), Washington defensive tackle Jonathan Allen ($31.2M), Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson ($31M), Jacksonville rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence ($30.8M), Detroit quarterback Jared Goff ($27.7M) and New York Giants defensive tackle Leonard Williams ($26.2M).
The top 10 NFL players are set to make $418 million in 2021, an increase of 9 percent from last year.