2026 NFL Salaries by College

Updated by Dan on Sep 1, 2026

NFL Running Back Salaries by College

What colleges and conferences have the highest paid NFL players at Running Back?
How it works

Top Conferences

	Conference	#	Salary
1.	SEC	23	$83.6M
2.	Big Ten	25	$71.5M
3.	Big 12	18	$54.6M
4.	ACC	14	$41.2M
5.	AAC	6	$26.8M
6.	Independent	4	$25.4M
7.	MWC	2	$13.2M
8.	PAC-12	3	$10.3M
9.	FCS	6	$10.2M
10.	MAC	1	$2.8M
11.	Sun Belt	2	$2.2M

Top Colleges

	College	#	Salary
1.	Notre Dame	4	$25.4M
2.	Wisconsin	3	$20M
3.	Oklahoma State	3	$18.3M
4.	Alabama	4	$17.9M
5.	Iowa State	3	$16.7M
6.	Memphis	2	$16.3M
7.	Texas	4	$15M
8.	Georgia	2	$14.7M
9.	Tennessee	2	$12.6M
10.	Penn State	3	$11.8M
11.	Ohio State	3	$11.1M
12.	Stanford	1	$10.9M
13.	UTEP	1	$10.2M
14.	Oklahoma	2	$9.4M
15.	Boise State	2	$9.2M
16.	North Carolina	3	$9M
17.	Clemson	2	$6.3M
18.	BYU	2	$6.2M
19.	Georgia Tech	1	$5.8M
20.	Michigan State	1	$5.7M
21.	South Carolina	2	$4.8M
22.	Kentucky	3	$4.4M
23.	Tulane	1	$3.9M
24.	Illinois	1	$3.8M
25.	Syracuse	2	$3.5M
26.	Maryland	1	$3.3M
27.	Arizona State	2	$3.3M
28.	East Carolina	1	$3.1M
29.	North Dakota State	1	$3M
30.	TCU	2	$3M
31.	Harvard	1	$2.9M
32.	Southern California	2	$2.8M
33.	Toledo	1	$2.8M
34.	Maine	1	$2.8M
35.	Florida Atlantic	1	$2.6M
36.	Oregon	2	$2.4M
37.	Rutgers	2	$2.2M
38.	Nebraska	2	$2.1M
39.	UCF	1	$1.7M
40.	Fort Valley State University	1	$1.6M
41.	Michigan	1	$1.6M
42.	Auburn	1	$1.5M
43.	Virginia Tech	1	$1.3M
44.	Boston College	1	$1.3M
45.	Sacred Heart	1	$1.3M
46.	Indiana	1	$1.2M
47.	Utah	1	$1.2M
48.	Washington	1	$1.2M
49.	North Carolina State	1	$1.2M
50.	Arkansas	1	$1.2M
51.	Marshall	1	$1.2M
52.	Florida	1	$1.2M
53.	Purdue	1	$1.1M
54.	South Dakota State	1	$1.1M
55.	Iowa	1	$1.1M
56.	New Hampshire	1	$1.1M
57.	Kansas State	1	$1.1M
58.	Missouri	1	$1.1M
59.	Fresno State	1	$1.1M
59.	Troy	1	$1.1M
61.	Texas Tech	1	$1.1M
62.	Arizona	1	$1M
63.	SMU	1	$1M
64.	East Tennessee State	1	$1M
65.	Cincinnati	1	$1M
66.	Wake Forest	1	$953.4K
67.	Navy	1	$924K

AAC

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Tony Pollard	Memphis	Titans	RB	$9.3M
2.	Kenneth Gainwell	Memphis	Buccaneers	RB	$7M
3.	Tyjae Spears	Tulane	Titans	RB	$3.9M
4.	Keaton Mitchell	East Carolina	Rams	RB	$3.1M
5.	Devin Singletary	Florida Atlantic	Giants	RB	$2.6M
6.	Eli Heidenreich	Navy	Steelers	RB	$924K

ACC

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Christian McCaffrey	Stanford	49ers	RB	$10.9M
2.	Jordan Mason	Georgia Tech	Vikings	RB	$5.8M
3.	Travis Etienne	Clemson	Saints	RB	$5M
4.	Omarion Hampton	North Carolina	Rams	RB	$4M
5.	Javonte Williams	North Carolina	Cowboys	RB	$3.9M
6.	Sean Tucker	Syracuse	Buccaneers	RB	$2.5M
7.	Bhayshul Tuten	Virginia Tech	Jaguars	RB	$1.3M
8.	A.J. Dillon	Boston College	Panthers	RB	$1.3M
9.	Will Shipley	Clemson	Eagles	RB	$1.3M
10.	Bam Knight	North Carolina State	Cardinals	RB	$1.2M
11.	British Brooks	North Carolina	Texans	RB	$1.1M
12.	Brashard Smith	SMU	Chiefs	RB	$1M
13.	LeQuint Allen	Syracuse	Jaguars	RB	$1M
14.	Demond Claiborne	Wake Forest	Vikings	RB	$953.4K

Big 12

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Breece Hall	Iowa State	Jets	RB	$11.5M
2.	Chuba Hubbard	Oklahoma State	Panthers	RB	$7.5M
3.	Jaylen Warren	Oklahoma State	Steelers	RB	$7M
4.	Tyler Allgeier	BYU	Cardinals	RB	$4.4M
5.	Justice Hill	Oklahoma State	Ravens	RB	$3.8M
6.	David Montgomery	Iowa State	Texans	RB	$3.3M
7.	Rachaad White	Arizona State	Commanders	RB	$2M
8.	Kene Nwangwu	Iowa State	Jets	RB	$1.9M
9.	Chris Brooks	BYU	Packers	RB	$1.8M
10.	Kendre Miller	TCU	Saints	RB	$1.8M
11.	RJ Harvey	UCF	Broncos	RB	$1.7M
12.	Cam Skattebo	Arizona State	Giants	RB	$1.3M
13.	Sione Vaki	Utah	Lions	RB	$1.2M
14.	Emari Demercado	TCU	Cowboys	RB	$1.2M
15.	DJ Giddens	Kansas State	Colts	RB	$1.1M
16.	Tahj Brooks	Texas Tech	Bengals	RB	$1.1M
17.	Jacory Croskey-Merritt	Arizona	Commanders	RB	$1M
18.	Corey Kiner	Cincinnati	Patriots	RB	$1M

Big Ten

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Jonathan Taylor	Wisconsin	Colts	RB	$15.6M
2.	Saquon Barkley	Penn State	Eagles	RB	$9.9M
3.	JK Dobbins	Ohio State	Broncos	RB	$6M
4.	Kenneth Walker III	Michigan State	Chiefs	RB	$5.7M
5.	Chase Brown	Illinois	Bengals	RB	$3.8M
6.	Ty Johnson	Maryland	Bills	RB	$3.3M
6.	Alec Ingold	Wisconsin	Rams	FB	$3.3M
8.	Quinshon Judkins	Ohio State	Browns	RB	$2.6M
9.	TreVeyon Henderson	Ohio State	Patriots	RB	$2.5M
10.	Blake Corum	Michigan	Rams	RB	$1.6M
11.	Marshawn Lloyd	Southern California	Packers	RB	$1.6M
12.	Woody Marks	Southern California	Texans	RB	$1.3M
13.	Bucky Irving	Oregon	Buccaneers	RB	$1.3M
14.	Kaelon Black	Indiana	49ers	RB	$1.2M
15.	Braelon Allen	Wisconsin	Jets	RB	$1.2M
16.	Jonah Coleman	Washington	Broncos	RB	$1.2M
17.	Tyrone Tracy	Purdue	Giants	RB	$1.1M
18.	Michael Burton	Rutgers	Browns	FB	$1.1M
19.	Kaleb Johnson	Iowa	Packers	RB	$1.1M
20.	Jordan James	Oregon	49ers	RB	$1.1M
21.	Ameer Abdullah	Nebraska	Jaguars	RB	$1.1M
22.	Kyle Monangai	Rutgers	Bears	RB	$1M
23.	Emmett Johnson	Nebraska	Chiefs	RB	$1M
24.	Nicholas Singleton	Penn State	Titans	RB	$1M
25.	Kaytron Allen	Penn State	Commanders	RB	$965.8K

FCS

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Kyle Juszczyk	Harvard	49ers	FB	$2.9M
2.	Patrick Ricard	Maine	Giants	FB	$2.8M
3.	Julius Chestnut	Sacred Heart	Titans	RB	$1.3M
4.	Isaiah Davis	South Dakota State	Jets	RB	$1.1M
5.	Dylan Laube	New Hampshire	Raiders	RB	$1.1M
6.	Jacob Saylors	East Tennessee State	Lions	RB	$1M

Independent

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Kyren Williams	Notre Dame	Rams	RB	$11.6M
2.	Jeremiyah Love	Notre Dame	Cardinals	RB	$9.6M
3.	Jadarian Price	Notre Dame	Seahawks	RB	$3.1M
4.	Audric Estimé	Notre Dame	Saints	RB	$1.1M

MAC

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Reggie Gilliam	Toledo	Patriots	FB	$2.8M

MWC

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Aaron Jones	UTEP	Vikings	RB	$10.2M
2.	Hunter Luepke	North Dakota State	Cowboys	FB	$3M

PAC-12

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Ashton Jeanty	Boise State	Raiders	RB	$8.2M
2.	Ronnie Rivers	Fresno State	Rams	RB	$1.1M
2.	George Holani	Boise State	Seahawks	RB	$1.1M

SEC

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Alvin Kamara	Tennessee	Saints	RB	$11.4M
2.	Bijan Robinson	Texas	Falcons	RB	$10M
3.	D'Andre Swift	Georgia	Bears	RB	$8.8M
4.	Jahmyr Gibbs	Alabama	Lions	RB	$8.7M
5.	Rhamondre Stevenson	Oklahoma	Patriots	RB	$7.4M
6.	James Cook	Georgia	Bills	RB	$5.9M
7.	Derrick Henry	Alabama	Ravens	RB	$5.6M
8.	Rico Dowdle	South Carolina	Steelers	RB	$3.8M
9.	Brian Robinson	Alabama	Falcons	RB	$2.5M
10.	Jonathon Brooks	Texas	Panthers	RB	$2.3M
11.	Chris Rodriguez Jr.	Kentucky	Jaguars	RB	$2.2M
12.	Samaje Perine	Oklahoma	Bengals	RB	$2M
13.	Tank Bigsby	Auburn	Eagles	RB	$1.5M
14.	Roschon Johnson	Texas	Bears	RB	$1.3M
15.	Andrew Beck	Texas	Jets	FB	$1.3M
16.	Ray Davis	Kentucky	Bills	RB	$1.3M
17.	Dylan Sampson	Tennessee	Browns	RB	$1.2M
18.	Mike Washington Jr.	Arkansas	Raiders	RB	$1.2M
19.	Malik Davis	Florida	Cowboys	RB	$1.2M
20.	Tyler Badie	Missouri	Broncos	RB	$1.1M
21.	Najee Harris	Alabama	Giants	RB	$1.1M
22.	Raheim Sanders	South Carolina	Browns	RB	$1M
23.	Seth McGowan	Kentucky	Colts	RB	$918.7K

Sun Belt

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Rasheen Ali	Marshall	Ravens	RB	$1.2M
2.	Kimani Vidal	Troy	Rams	RB	$1.1M

Alabama

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Jahmyr Gibbs	Alabama	Lions	RB	$8.7M
2.	Derrick Henry	Alabama	Ravens	RB	$5.6M
3.	Brian Robinson	Alabama	Falcons	RB	$2.5M
4.	Najee Harris	Alabama	Giants	RB	$1.1M

Arizona

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Jacory Croskey-Merritt	Arizona	Commanders	RB	$1M

Arizona State

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Rachaad White	Arizona State	Commanders	RB	$2M
2.	Cam Skattebo	Arizona State	Giants	RB	$1.3M

Arkansas

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Mike Washington Jr.	Arkansas	Raiders	RB	$1.2M

Auburn

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Tank Bigsby	Auburn	Eagles	RB	$1.5M

BYU

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Tyler Allgeier	BYU	Cardinals	RB	$4.4M
2.	Chris Brooks	BYU	Packers	RB	$1.8M

Boise State

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Ashton Jeanty	Boise State	Raiders	RB	$8.2M
2.	George Holani	Boise State	Seahawks	RB	$1.1M

Boston College

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	A.J. Dillon	Boston College	Panthers	RB	$1.3M

Cincinnati

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Corey Kiner	Cincinnati	Patriots	RB	$1M

Clemson

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Travis Etienne	Clemson	Saints	RB	$5M
2.	Will Shipley	Clemson	Eagles	RB	$1.3M

East Carolina

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Keaton Mitchell	East Carolina	Rams	RB	$3.1M

East Tennessee State

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Jacob Saylors	East Tennessee State	Lions	RB	$1M

Florida

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Malik Davis	Florida	Cowboys	RB	$1.2M

Florida Atlantic

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Devin Singletary	Florida Atlantic	Giants	RB	$2.6M

Fort Valley State University

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Emanuel Wilson	Fort Valley State University	Seahawks	RB	$1.6M

Fresno State

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Ronnie Rivers	Fresno State	Rams	RB	$1.1M

Georgia

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	D'Andre Swift	Georgia	Bears	RB	$8.8M
2.	James Cook	Georgia	Bills	RB	$5.9M

Georgia Tech

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Jordan Mason	Georgia Tech	Vikings	RB	$5.8M

Harvard

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Kyle Juszczyk	Harvard	49ers	FB	$2.9M

Illinois

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Chase Brown	Illinois	Bengals	RB	$3.8M

Indiana

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Kaelon Black	Indiana	49ers	RB	$1.2M

Iowa

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Kaleb Johnson	Iowa	Packers	RB	$1.1M

Iowa State

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Breece Hall	Iowa State	Jets	RB	$11.5M
2.	David Montgomery	Iowa State	Texans	RB	$3.3M
3.	Kene Nwangwu	Iowa State	Jets	RB	$1.9M

Kansas State

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	DJ Giddens	Kansas State	Colts	RB	$1.1M

Kentucky

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Chris Rodriguez Jr.	Kentucky	Jaguars	RB	$2.2M
2.	Ray Davis	Kentucky	Bills	RB	$1.3M
3.	Seth McGowan	Kentucky	Colts	RB	$918.7K

Maine

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Patrick Ricard	Maine	Giants	FB	$2.8M

Marshall

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Rasheen Ali	Marshall	Ravens	RB	$1.2M

Maryland

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Ty Johnson	Maryland	Bills	RB	$3.3M

Memphis

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Tony Pollard	Memphis	Titans	RB	$9.3M
2.	Kenneth Gainwell	Memphis	Buccaneers	RB	$7M

Michigan

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Blake Corum	Michigan	Rams	RB	$1.6M

Michigan State

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Kenneth Walker III	Michigan State	Chiefs	RB	$5.7M

Missouri

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Tyler Badie	Missouri	Broncos	RB	$1.1M

Navy

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Eli Heidenreich	Navy	Steelers	RB	$924K

Nebraska

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Ameer Abdullah	Nebraska	Jaguars	RB	$1.1M
2.	Emmett Johnson	Nebraska	Chiefs	RB	$1M

New Hampshire

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Dylan Laube	New Hampshire	Raiders	RB	$1.1M

North Carolina

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Omarion Hampton	North Carolina	Rams	RB	$4M
2.	Javonte Williams	North Carolina	Cowboys	RB	$3.9M
3.	British Brooks	North Carolina	Texans	RB	$1.1M

North Carolina State

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Bam Knight	North Carolina State	Cardinals	RB	$1.2M

North Dakota State

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Hunter Luepke	North Dakota State	Cowboys	FB	$3M

Notre Dame

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Kyren Williams	Notre Dame	Rams	RB	$11.6M
2.	Jeremiyah Love	Notre Dame	Cardinals	RB	$9.6M
3.	Jadarian Price	Notre Dame	Seahawks	RB	$3.1M
4.	Audric Estimé	Notre Dame	Saints	RB	$1.1M

Ohio State

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	JK Dobbins	Ohio State	Broncos	RB	$6M
2.	Quinshon Judkins	Ohio State	Browns	RB	$2.6M
3.	TreVeyon Henderson	Ohio State	Patriots	RB	$2.5M

Oklahoma

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Rhamondre Stevenson	Oklahoma	Patriots	RB	$7.4M
2.	Samaje Perine	Oklahoma	Bengals	RB	$2M

Oklahoma State

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Chuba Hubbard	Oklahoma State	Panthers	RB	$7.5M
2.	Jaylen Warren	Oklahoma State	Steelers	RB	$7M
3.	Justice Hill	Oklahoma State	Ravens	RB	$3.8M

Oregon

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Bucky Irving	Oregon	Buccaneers	RB	$1.3M
2.	Jordan James	Oregon	49ers	RB	$1.1M

Penn State

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Saquon Barkley	Penn State	Eagles	RB	$9.9M
2.	Nicholas Singleton	Penn State	Titans	RB	$1M
3.	Kaytron Allen	Penn State	Commanders	RB	$965.8K

Purdue

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Tyrone Tracy	Purdue	Giants	RB	$1.1M

Rutgers

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Michael Burton	Rutgers	Browns	FB	$1.1M
2.	Kyle Monangai	Rutgers	Bears	RB	$1M

SMU

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Brashard Smith	SMU	Chiefs	RB	$1M

Sacred Heart

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Julius Chestnut	Sacred Heart	Titans	RB	$1.3M

South Carolina

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Rico Dowdle	South Carolina	Steelers	RB	$3.8M
2.	Raheim Sanders	South Carolina	Browns	RB	$1M

South Dakota State

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Isaiah Davis	South Dakota State	Jets	RB	$1.1M

Southern California

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Marshawn Lloyd	Southern California	Packers	RB	$1.6M
2.	Woody Marks	Southern California	Texans	RB	$1.3M

Stanford

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Christian McCaffrey	Stanford	49ers	RB	$10.9M

Syracuse

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Sean Tucker	Syracuse	Buccaneers	RB	$2.5M
2.	LeQuint Allen	Syracuse	Jaguars	RB	$1M

TCU

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Kendre Miller	TCU	Saints	RB	$1.8M
2.	Emari Demercado	TCU	Cowboys	RB	$1.2M

Tennessee

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Alvin Kamara	Tennessee	Saints	RB	$11.4M
2.	Dylan Sampson	Tennessee	Browns	RB	$1.2M

Texas

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Bijan Robinson	Texas	Falcons	RB	$10M
2.	Jonathon Brooks	Texas	Panthers	RB	$2.3M
3.	Roschon Johnson	Texas	Bears	RB	$1.3M
4.	Andrew Beck	Texas	Jets	FB	$1.3M

Texas Tech

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Tahj Brooks	Texas Tech	Bengals	RB	$1.1M

Toledo

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Reggie Gilliam	Toledo	Patriots	FB	$2.8M

Troy

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Kimani Vidal	Troy	Rams	RB	$1.1M

Tulane

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Tyjae Spears	Tulane	Titans	RB	$3.9M

UCF

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	RJ Harvey	UCF	Broncos	RB	$1.7M

UTEP

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Aaron Jones	UTEP	Vikings	RB	$10.2M

Utah

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Sione Vaki	Utah	Lions	RB	$1.2M

Virginia Tech

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Bhayshul Tuten	Virginia Tech	Jaguars	RB	$1.3M

Wake Forest

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Demond Claiborne	Wake Forest	Vikings	RB	$953.4K

Washington

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Jonah Coleman	Washington	Broncos	RB	$1.2M

Wisconsin

	Name	College	NFL	Pos	Salary
1.	Jonathan Taylor	Wisconsin	Colts	RB	$15.6M
2.	Alec Ingold	Wisconsin	Rams	FB	$3.3M
3.	Braelon Allen	Wisconsin	Jets	RB	$1.2M

NCAAF Conference Records

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NFL Saleries by College

Every NCAA conference/school ranked by how much their former players make in the NFL