What Is Zach Wilson's Net Worth and Salary?
Zach Wilson is an American football quarterback who has a net worth of $10 million. Zach Wilson was the second overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, and he was selected by the New York Jets, who signed him to a four-year deal worth $35.15 million. The deal included a $22.9 million signing bonus. Thanks largely to earning the majority of his contract as a signing bonus, in the 2021-2024 seasons, Zach's base salary is $1 million. In the 2023 season he earned a $3 million roster bonus. The roster bonus goes up to $4.4 million in 2024.
Wilson previously played for Brigham Young University, where he was named a bowl game MVP twice and won the 2020 Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Award.
Early Life
Zach Wilson was born Zachary Kapono Wilson on August 3, 1999, in Draper, Utah. He is the son of Lisa and Michael Wilson, and he has five siblings, Whitney, Josh, Sophie, Isaac, and Micah. Zach's heritage is part Hawaiian on Michael's side, and his middle name, Kapono, means "righteous." Wilson was a member of the football team at Corner Canyon High School, where he passed for 24 touchdowns and nearly 2,900 yards during his senior year. Zach originally intended to go to college at Boise State University, but he later decided to attend Brigham Young University (BYU) instead. During his youth, Wilson was diagnosed with ADHD, which runs in his family.
College Career
During his freshman year, Zach played in nine games, and his first career game start was against Hawaii. He was the youngest BYU quarterback to ever start a game for the school. At the end of the season, Wilson had completed 120 passes for 1,578 yards, and his touchdown to interception ratio was 12:3. BYU won the 2018 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, and Zach was named MVP, thanks to his 18 completed passes (a BYU record) for 317 yards and four touchdowns. He started nine games as a sophomore, completing 199 passes for 2,382 yards and 11 touchdowns, and he was named BYU's MVP in the 2019 Hawaii Bowl. During the 2020 season, Wilson started a dozen games and completed 247 passes for 3,692 yards and 33 touchdowns. He also rushed for 255 yards and 10 touchdowns and broke Steve Young's BYU seasonal completion percentage at 73.5%. At the 2020 Boca Raton Bowl, Zach was named offensive MVP after he completed 26 passes for 425 yards and three touchdowns and helped BYU defeat the University of Central Florida 49–23. That year he received the Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Award.
(Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
Professional Career
During the 2021 NFL Draft, Wilson was the second overall pick and subsequently signed a four-year contract with the New York Jets. He earned his first NFL win in a Week 4 game against the Tennessee Titans, and during Week 7, he injured his right knee after being hit by Patriots linebacker Matthew Judon. After the game, it was announced that Zach had sprained a posterior cruciate ligament, and he had to sit out four games because of the injury. He ended the season with 2,334 passing yards and nine passing touchdowns. During the 2022 season, Wilson missed the first three games after tearing his meniscus and suffering a non-contact bone bruise during the preseason opener. He achieved a career high of 355 passing yards during a game against the Patriots, but he was demoted to third-string later in the season. After the Jets acquired Aaron Rodgers, Zach was designated his backup for the 2023 season. However, Rodgers suffered a "season-ending injury" during Week 1, and Wilson was promoted to starting quarterback.
Personal Life
Though Zach was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he told "Deseret News" in 2021, "I was never really a churchgoer my whole life, just not involved much in it. My family and I hold the same morals and values that the church does, for sure, but I really didn't know a lot about the teaching and stuff until I got to BYU." He added, "I consider myself a really spiritual person. I feel like I have always had a good relationship with God in my life." Wilson has been friends with Dax Milne, his former BYU Cougars teammate, since he was a child. Milne later went on to play for the NFL team the Washington Commanders.
