Jefferson’s Payday: Only 4 Minnesota Athletes Have Earned More. Can You Name The Others?

Justin Jefferson just entered an elite club of only 5 athletes that have made over $100 million in earnings playing for Minnesota teams, can you name the 4 others?

The top 5 now includes two Vikings, two Timberwolves and a Twins player, does that help in figuring out who these highly-paid Minnesota sports icons are? Combined, these top 5 players have or will make just over $970 million.

READ MORE: WATCH: Justin Jefferson’s Message To Fans After Signing Record-Setting Contract With Minnesota Vikings

According to Axios Twin Cities, Justin Jefferson's new $140 million contact will get him into the top 5 list of all-time highest earning Minnesota athletes, the list is a who's who of some of the biggest names in Minnesota sports history, let's take a look:

Jefferson's new contract is enough to land him comfortably into the top 5, with Danielle Hunter and Adrian Peterson, also from the Vikings, coming in at numbers 6 and 7, both making about $95 million.

#4 Karl-Anthony Towns

Karl-Anthony Towns is currently the highest paid player of the Timberwolves, he signed a 4-year extension with the team in 2022 worth $224 million, but as of 2024 he has made a total of $182.3 million as a member of the Timberwolves.

#3 Kirk Cousins

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The Vikings were just another stop for a player that has mastered the fine art of making bank in the NFL, Kirk Cousins lands at the number 3 spot, he has manged to fleece $331.7 million from NFL teams between 2012 and the present. Cousins made $185 million as a member of the purple and gold.

#2 Kevin Garnett

The Timberwolves have one superstar in team history, and he made a lot of money in the state before leaving and winning a world championship with the Boston Celtics, of course I'm talking about Kevin Garnett. KG gave everything for the Timberwolves between 1997 and 2007, and the team paid him nicely for his contributions, he made a total of $217.9 million in his 10-years with the team, enough to put him in the number 2 slot.

#1 Joe Mauer

And the highest paid athlete of all-time in Minnesota, is one of us, hometown hero and Twins icon Joe Mauer, he spent his entire 15-year MLB career with the Twins, and he played at a high-level, which explains his place in the top spot. Mauer made $233.3 as a member of the Minnesota Twins.

As salaries of professional athletes continues to climb each year, I'm sure in 5 years this list will look a lot different, names like Anthony Edwards, J.J McCarthy, and others could have gigantic contracts that could instantly propel them onto this list.