The Top 5 Highest-Paid Huskies in the NFL

The Washington football program is consistently churning out NFL talent and some of these guys have received huge paydays. Kaila Olin from Husky Maven/Sports Illustrated breaks down the top five highest-paid players.

One in 17 high school seniors play football at the college level. Of those who players, one in 50 will get drafted by an NFL team. High school seniors drafted by NFL team make up nine in 10,000.

The Washington Huskies are tied for first in the Pac-12 with 13 projected starters in the NFL, not counting specialists. The UW also leads the conference in active players in the NFL with 40 former Huskies, five more than Stanford, according to WestCoastCFB.com.

Here are the top five highest-paid former Huskies in the NFL for this season. Include is each player's contract terms, signing bonus, average salary, yearly cap hit and yearly cash. All numbers and information were found on Spotrac. They're listed  in order based on yearly cap hit.

Shaq Thompson

The Carolina Panthers linebacker has a 4-year contact for $54.433 million, plus a $16 million signing bonus, an average salary of $13,608,250 a year, a cap hit of $7.2 million and yearly cash of $12 million. Thompson will become a free agent in 2024.

Desmond Trufant

The defensive back has a new team this season, the Detroit Lions, and has a 2-year contract worth $20 million, a $5 million signing bonus, average salary of $10 million/year, a yearly cap hit of $7,281,250 and guaranteed a yearly cash of $9,781,250. Trufant will become a free agent in 2022.

Budda Baker 

The highest-paid safety in the history of the NFL and a member of the Arizona Cardinals has a 4-year contract for $59 million, a $10 million signing bonus, an average salary of $14.750 million/year, a cap hit of $3,776,820, and $11 million yearly cash guaranteed. Baker will become a free agent in 2025.

Cory Littleton

The Las Vegas Raiders linebacker has a 3-year contract worth $35.25 million, an average salary of $11.75 million/year, a yearly cap hit of $3.678 million and $7.75 million guaranteed in yearly cash. Littleton will become a free agent in 2023.

Marcus Peters 

The defensive back for the Baltimore Ravens has a 3-year contract worth $42 million, $8 million signing bonus, an average salary of $14 million/year, yearly cap hit of $15 million, and $13 million guaranteed. Peters will become a free agent in 2023.