Photo by RDNE Stock project
Article courtesy of InGame
The New England Patriots are set to take on the Seattle Seahawks in Sunday’s Super Bowl showdown in what will be a repeat of the 2015 showpiece event. The Super Bowl is expected to be watched by around 130 million people worldwide, and that incredible level of popularity has brought ever-increasing sums of money into the nation’s favorite sport.
Out of the 50 best-paid sports stars in 2025, Forbes’ recent rich list showed that 13 of them were NFL players. This makes American football the second-best represented sport, with the NBA being the only one having more players in the top 50. This underlines just how much money there is within the NFL and how well players are paid, but are the Patriots and Seahawks actually getting value for money?
The team at InGame decided to delve into the data to determine which Super Bowl team is getting the best value-for-money this season. The study compares players’ salaries to their on-field performances to reveal which quarterbacks, wide receivers, running backs, and defensive tackles are delivering the most impressive return on investment.
Key findings:
- Drake Maye of the New England Patriots has been the better value-for-money quarterback compared to the Seattle Seahawks’ Sam Darnold, achieving an index score of 94.2 compared to Darnold’s 64.8
- The New England Patriots also have the best value-for-money wide receiver in Kayshon Boutte, with his index score of 95.6 bettering the 74.7 Jaxon Smith-Njigba of the Seattle Seahawks achieved
- TreVeyon Henderson of the New England Patriots was named the best value-for-money running back amongst the two teams set to contest the Super Bowl. His index score of 90.4 dwarfed the 74.5 Zach Charbonnet earned
- The Seattle Seahawks do have the better value-for-money defensive tackle, though, with Byron Murphy achieving an index score of 80.7 compared to Joshua Farmer’s 61.2
The Best Value For Money Super Bowl Stars In The NFL This Season
The study compared every quarterback, wide receiver, running back, and defensive tackle in the NFL regular season to determine who was the best value-for-money in their position.
Quarterbacks were assessed on their passing yards and the number of touchdowns they threw, wide receivers were assessed on receiving yards and touchdowns, running backs on rushing yards and touchdowns, and defensive tackles on combined tackles and sacks. Each players stats were then compared to their salaries.
The results showed the best value-for-money players in the NFL, but the team at InGame have narrowed it down to just New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks players ahead of their highly-anticipated Super Bowl showdown this weekend.
The Best Value-For-Money Quarterback
| Overall Rank | Super Bowl Stars | Team | Index Score |
| 2 | Drake Maye | New England Patriots | 94.2 |
| 15 | Sam Darnold | Seattle Seahawks | 64.8 |
The Best Value-For-Money Wide Receiver
| Overall Rank | Super Bowl Stars | Team | Index Score |
| 3 | Kayshon Boutte | New England Patriots | 95.6 |
| 12 | Jaxon Smith-Njigba | Seattle Seahawks | 74.7 |
The Best Value-For-Money Defensive Tackle
| Overall Rank | Super Bowl Stars | Team | Index Score |
| 10 | Byron Murphy | Seattle Seahawks | 80.7 |
| 26 | Joshua Farmer | New England Patriots | 61.2 |
The Best Value-For-Money Running Back
| Overall Rank | Super Bowl Stars | Team | Index Score |
| 3 | TreVeyon Henderson | New England Patriots | 90.4 |
| 6 | Zach Charbonnet | Seattle Seahawks | 74.5 |
Methodology
- All of the salary data was collected from Spotrac – https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/rankings/player/_/year/2026/sort/cash_total
- All of the performance data was collected from the NFL website – https://www.nfl.com/stats/player-stats/
- We compared every NFL player’s salary to their key performance statistics to see who was the best value for money player in their position during the 2025 regular season.
- For example, Quarterbacks were analyzed on their passing yards and the number of touchdowns they threw. This performance data was then weighted and offset against the salary data to determine which players provide great value to their respective teams.