Yes, they make less than top players, but they don’t make nothing. And not all players make so much. Pierce was an undrafted player, who eventually played 9 years, and was an alternate in pone Pro Bowl. I doubt he made as much as you think, and I doubt it was $28 million. They didn’t have info on Sportrac.
I have no idea what he made. I just know that of all the money he did make, most of it would have been as a player because that’s how it usually is.
He is thought to be worth about $25 million, but that’s napkin calculations based his contracts and all that. It could be more or less, depending on how well he managed his money.
https://www.sportskeeda.com/nfl/antonio-pierce-net-worth-how-much-raiders-interim-hc-worth-2023