Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce are NFL’s top off-field earners, per study
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- Sportico study ranks Patrick Mahomes as NFL’s top earner for 2025 season
- Mahomes generates $30 million in endorsements from over a dozen brand deals
- Mahomes surpasses peers through ad exposure, investments and team ownerships
No active quarterback can match Patrick Mahomes’ accolades.
Mahomes, the Chiefs quarterback, has won three Super Bowl titles and was named MVP in each game. He’s also been the NFL MVP twice and led the Chiefs to seven straight AFC Championship Game appearances.
But Mahomes isn’t the highest-paid quarterback. He ranked fourth in the NFL in total cash he’ll be paid for the 2025 season, per Spotrac. Not that $50 million is anything to sneeze at, but that’s less than the Chargers’ Justin Herbert ($60 million), Bills’ Josh Allen ($58 million) and Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa ($51 million).
However, a new study by Sportico’s Kurt Badenhausen shows no one in the NFL will earn more money this season than Mahomes. The difference is Mahomes’ off-the-field earnings, which are estimated at $30 million.
“Last year, he was ubiquitous on TV, appearing in an NFL-high 423 ad spots during league games, per iSpot — the retired Peyton Manning was second at 318,” Badenhausen wrote of Mahomes.
“Mahomes has more than a dozen endorsement partners, including Adidas, Coors Light, Invisalign, Oakley, State Farm and T-Mobile; he recently added new deals with Panini and Hublot.”
The Sportico story also notes that Mahomes is part of ownership groups of the Royals, Current and Sporting Kansas City.
“The only player that can match Mahomes’ off-field earnings is his teammate, Travis Kelce, who has the most Instagram followers of any active NFL player with 8 million and a very famous fiancée,” Badenhausen wrote. “He ranks No. 7 at $49 million (total earnings), including $32 million off the field.”
That $32 million in off-field earnings for Kelce is the most for any NFL player.
“Kelce invested in the sports hydration drink Recover 180 and serves as a brand ambassador, and he teamed with American Eagle for a product collaboration for his sportswear and lifestyle brand Tru Kolors, which he launched in 2019,” Sportico noted. “Kelce and his brother Jason, the former Eagles center, are also investors and the faces of Garage Beer, which recently raised money at a $200 million valuation.
“Kelce’s biggest off-field income stream is his New Heights podcast with Jason, which is distributed on Wondery, Amazon’s podcast production company. The three-year deal is worth more than $100 million for the podcast, which launched at the start of the 2022 season.”
No. 3 on the list of endorsement money is Allen ($15 million), followed by Herbert ($11 million).
This story was originally published September 18, 2025 at 9:50 AM.
