These Are the Highest-Paid Athletes in Michigan in 2025

Michigan sports look to be entering a new golden era if things keep going the way they have in recent years. The Lions, Tigers, and soon Pistons, have made the playoffs recently after some considerable droughts. Heck, the Lions are outright and without question one of the best teams in the NFL.

Of course, when your team is successful, the balance of power comes back to the finances. Great teams have great players, and great players earn top money.

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There are plenty of star athletes in Michigan, and some aren't even pro yet. However, you won't find any college players raking in the sort of cash needed to land on this list. Michigan freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood is expecting to make over $10 million over the course of his career in Ann Arbor, which puts him far away from the professionals on this list when averaged over three-to-four years.

You also won't find any Red Wings on this list. The highest-paid Red Wing, Dylan Larkin, is set to make $8.7 million for the 2024-25 NHL season. There were plenty of players left off of this list that will make more.

Naturally, the Lions have the most players on the list of 14 below with six total players. While the names at the top of the list from the Lions might not be too surprising, there are a couple of omissions that are a touch surprising, such as Aidan Hutchinson.

Because contract numbers are not actually public information, the NFL salaries referenced in the list come from Over The Cap. Meanwhile, salaries from NBA and MLB players are sourced from Spotrac.

The 14 players listed below are the highest-paid professional athletes playing in Michigan today.