Montana and Everett Lead NFL in Salary

WASHINGTON — San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana is the highest-paid player in the NFL, making twice the annual base salary of the league’s No. 2 wage earner, the Rams’ Jim Everett, The Washington Post reported today.

A National Football League Players Assn. document says the defending two-time Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers have the heftiest annual payroll at nearly $26.815 million, the Post report said.

The New York Jets are next at nearly $22.458 million, followed by the Raiders at $21.507 million and the Washington Redskins at $21.463 million.

An NFLPA official said today that the Post report was incomplete and outdated, but the official declined to release new information.

Montana’s annual base salary, the NFLPA document states, is $4 million. Everett follows at $2 million. New York Giant linebacker Lawrence Taylor is third at $1.55 million.