Few states in America are better at pumping out NFL-grade talent than Colorado in recent years, with superstar running back Christian McCaffrey being front and center in that discussion.
The three-time Pro Bowl running back out of Castle Rock has amassed an approximate value of 72 in 91 NFL games since entering the league in 2017, ranking second among active players from the Centennial State behind Calais Campbell (109 AV in 244 games).
With the recent news of Broncos’ CB Patrick Surtain II’s record-breaking contract, BetColorado.com - your home for Colorado sports betting - wanted to see what states produce the highest paid current NFL running backs. Using Spotrac.com we found the highest-paid RBs on each NFL team, then found the average salary for each of the states the RBs were born in. We ranked the states based on the highest average salary.
States Producing Highest Paid Current RBs
Rank | State | Average Yearly Salary |
1 | Colorado | $19M |
2 | New Jersey | $14M |
3 | New York | $12.58M |
4 | Oklahoma | $12M |
5 | Nevada | $9M |
6 | Georgia | $8.09M |
7 | Ohio | $6M |
8 | Pennsylvania | $5.7M |
9 | Arizona | $5.5M |
10 | Tennessee | $4.7M |
Where Colorado Ranks
While Colorado’s statewide NFL backfield is sparse, with one active player at the position, it helps that that person is McCaffrey, who has made two All-Pro teams and scored 52 touchdowns in his career. He is not only popular among those participating in Colorado sports betting apps, but he is key to winning bets all over the world.
McCaffrey and his four-year, $62.2 million contract put Colorado in the No. 1 spot for running back pay at $19 million per season, ahead of New Jersey ($14 million), New York ($12.58 million), Oklahoma ($12 million) and Nevada ($9 million).
Rounding out the list are locales like Georgia ($8.09 million), Ohio ($6 million), Pennsylvania ($5.7 million), Arizona ($5.5 million) and Tennessee ($4.7 million), though all of them are chasing the Centennial State on a national level.
The eighth overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft out of Stanford already has the third-highest AV of any player in NFL history born in Colorado, behind Campbell and wide receiver Vincent Jackson, who amassed 77 AV in 155 NFL games between 2005 and 2016.
The next closest Colorado-born running back would be Herman Heard, who had 24 AV out of Denver between 1984 and 1989, while Phillip Lindsay (also from Denver) had 19 AV between 2018 and 2022 after a successful run at CU.
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Author
Christopher Boan has been covering sports and sports betting for more than seven years, including stops at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.
