Tom Brady Led NFL in Royalties Last Season With ‘Staggering' Number

Tom Brady is far from the NFL's highest-paid quarterback. But he has other means to make a decent living.

The New England Patriots quarterback took home $2.35 million in "group licensing" endorsements last season, defined by the NFL Players' Association as earnings from the sale of "jerseys, video games and trading cards" with his likeness, according to Daniel Kaplan of The Athletic.

Brady's $2.35 million in earnings led all NFL players, a remarkable feat considering he's the NFL's oldest position player and has played for one team his entire career.

"(It's) just truly staggering, because he's been in the same market, selling the same jersey for 17 years," Russ Spielman, president of sports marketing at GSE Worldwide, told Kaplan. "You see, Peyton Manning moves markets when he did (from Indianapolis to Denver), and you understand when his jersey goes to the top of the sales. But for Tom, I mean, how many more Patriot fans are there that don't own his jersey at this point, but it keeps going. It's awesome to watch."

Brady actually earned less in endorsements (which don't include his solo sponsorships with companies like Under Armour) than the $2.5 million he earned the previous season. It's testament to the 41-year-old's enduring popularity -- and the Patriots' success -- over his 19-year career that fans are still coming out in droves to buy the same No. 12 jersey he wore as a rookie in 2000.

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott ($2 million) and former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown ($1.5 million) rounded out the top three, but Brady remains the de facto "face of the NFL" as he approaches two full decades in the league.

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