Purdue Boilermakers Rank No. 1 in Average Annual NFL Salary
By Mathew Muncy
Did you know that the current group of former Purdue Boilermakers average the highest annual salary in the NFL? Neither did I, and I’m going to guess that this comes as a surprise to many.
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BestTickets.com completed an unofficial 2014 Player Census that covered five areas: Physical Attributes and Race, Birthplace and Hometown, Education, Awards and Accomplishments and Experience and Age.
Purdue ranked at the top of the list for average annual salary in the NFL with $4.43 million. Pittsburgh was close behind at $4.38 million.
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees gives the Boilermakers a huge bump in this category with his average salary of $20 million, followed by Seattle Seahawks defensive end Cliff Avril at $6.5 million. The census also states, “Only four of the 13 players out of Purdue make less than $1MM annually.”
Purdue is also tied for third with most Super Bowl champions in the league. Brees won in 2010, Mike Neal won in 2011 with the Green Bay Packers, Bernard Pollard in 2012 with the Baltimore Ravens and Avril with the Seahawks last season. They are tied with Miami (FL), Michigan, Tennessee and Wisconsin.
Not bad company to be in, especially when Purdue hasn’t been super competitive since the early 2000s.
What do you think of Purdue’s presence in the NFL after seeing this census? They’ve also had a player on a team in the Super Bowl for 15 straight years. Purdue may not make waves in the college ranks, but their players seem to be thoroughly prepared to succeed in the NFL.