The 10 Richest Arizona Cardinals

Newsflash: Being a professional athlete can be very lucrative.

Now, we don't have access to the Arizona Cardinals' Wells Fargo accounts, but based on earnings and endorsements, we can estimate the richest members of this year's successful squad. And some of these players might surprise you, as suspended linebacker Daryl Washington — who hasn't even played a game since 2013 — and backup quarterback Drew Stanton are 12th- and 13th-richest, respectively. Here are the 10 wealthiest:

10.) Red Bryant
For a defensive lineman who hasn't even amassed 100 tackles in his eight-year career, Bryant still made this list, earning more than $22.6 million, mostly paid out by the Seattle Seahawks.

9.) Cory Redding
He's never been a superstar, but this defensive lineman has collected more than $23 million over his 13-year career.

8.) Mike Iupati
This offensive lineman will be more toward the top of this list in a few years, as he's earned relatively modest pay for getting named to four Pro Bowls in his six-year career. But just one year into his big free-agent deal with the Cardinals, Iupati has managed to collect just under $28 million.

7.) Chris Johnson
Despite being the most prolific running back in the NFL for a short time, the 30-year-old  is just seventh on our ranking. He's earned more in paychecks ($43.7 million) than teammate Patrick Peterson, but Peterson appears to have way more involvement in endorsement deals than Johnson ever had.


6.) LaMarr Woodley
Though most of his money was collected in Pittsburgh, the veteran linebacker — who's out for the season with an injury — has earned more than $45 million, and has had some endorsement deals along the way.

5.) Calais Campbell
In his first four seasons in the NFL, Campbell averaged well under $1 million a year in pay. His contract got a little more favorable a few years ago, as he's now deposited checks worth more than $48 million over his 8-year career.

4.) Patrick Peterson
In just five NFL seasons, Peterson has earned an estimated $43.5 million from the Cardinals. The guy's bringing in so much cash that he actually forgot to deposit a $15 million check a couple years ago. Although three other players on the Cardinals have earned more from their NFL salaries, Peterson's portfolio of endorsement deals could easily put him up into this spot, as he reportedly has — or had — deals with Under Armor (instead of renewing a deal with Nike), Pepsi, Eastbay, Tide, T-Mobile, Mars, GoPro, Express, and GMC.

3.) Dwight Freeney
His base salary in his one-year contract with the Cards is about $1 million, but the 35-year-old pass-rusher used to make bank in his heyday with the Indianapolis Colts, accumulating more than $96 million over his 14 NFL seasons.

2.) Larry Fitzgerald
Yes, despite being the face of the franchise for years, and earning more than $129 million in paychecks from the Cardinals, there is one person on the team who's earned more.

1.) Carson Palmer
Barely. With the same number of years in the league as Fitzgerald, Palmer has earned $9 million more in NFL paychecks than his wide receiver. But there are a couple of caveats — Fitzgerald earns about $1 million more per year in endorsement deals than Palmer, according to recent estimates by Forbes. Plus, Fitzgerald is due $11 million next year, while Palmer will be owed about $6.4 million. This top spot's essentially a draw, but as of today, the crown goes to Palmer, who's earned more than $138 million over his career.