How Much Do Players Make in the Super Bowl?

I often get asked about how much NFL players earn during the playoffs. Here's the lowdown: Players don’t get paid their salaries for the postseason, though they do get bonuses for each round.

Since the Rams and Patriots both had a bye week, the players did not make any money during wild-card weekend, but they did pull in $29,000 for the Divisional Round and $54,000 for the Conference Championship Round.

So leading up to this game, players on both teams have made $83,000. But the Super Bowl, for all of its glitz and glamour, is shockingly paltry.

The players on the losing Super Bowl team will make $59,000, while the winners get $118,000 for a full share. (Only those who have been on the team the whole season receive a full share.)

Consider this: Players on the winning team for Super Bowl I got paid $15,000 in 1967. Factoring for inflation that’s $112,000 today.

So while the NFL’s revenues have grown a gazillion percent over the past 52 years, the prize for the title game winner has only gone up 5.3%.

If you're curious, here's the rundown of what the winning team in the Super Bowl has made each year (numbers not adjusted for inflation; the year listed is the year the game was played):

• 1967-1977: $15,000
• 1978-1982: $18,000
• 1983-1993: $36,000
• 1995-1996: $42,000
• 1997-1998: $48,000
• 1999: $53,000
• 2000-2001: $58,000
• 2002-2003: $63,000
• 2004-2005: $68,000
• 2006: $73,000
• 2007-2009: $78,000
• 2010-2011: $83,000
• 2012-2013: $88,000
• 2014: $92,000
• 2015-2016: $97,000
• 2017: $107,000
• 2018: $112,000
• 2019: $118,000