Topline
Top college football players can expect a major windfall Friday night when the 2024 NFL Draft resumes in Detroit, and even though the players picked Friday won’t land the lucrative $30-plus million contracts their first-round counterparts will, they can still expect pick up more than $5 million.
The top pick in the NFL draft is estimated to make over $38.5 million in their rookie contract. ... [+]
Key Facts
Some of the first picks in the second round of the draft can expect to make nearly $10 million in their four-year rookie contracts, according to Spotrac, which estimates the first pick of the second round will pull in just under $10 million, while the next eight players picked will make north of $9 million.
The last selection of the second round is estimated to land a deal around $6.3 million, before rookie contract values start dropping in the third round.
Players picked in the third round can expect to make between $5.5 million and $6 million in their rookie deals, which also include an option for a fifth year.
Contracts continue to decline in value as the draft progresses, ending with the final pick in the seventh round, nicknamed “Mr. Irrelevant,” who is expected to land a rookie deal just above $4 million.
Once set, those contracts are final for the time being: rookie contracts for drafted newcomers cannot be “renegotiated, amended or altered in any way” until players complete their final regular season game in their third year, according to the league collective bargaining agreement.
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Key Background
With the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears selected USC quarterback Caleb Williams Friday night. Williams had been widely considered to be the first overall pick in the draft, according to mock drafts by the NFL Network, CBS Sports, USA Today and The Athletic. With the next pick, the Washington Commanders selected LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels, while the New England Patriots took North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye with the third overall pick. Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. went fourth to the Arizona Cardinals, while Notre Dame tackle Joe Alt went fifth to the San Diego Chargers.
Tangent
The first overall pick in the draft—awarded to the Chicago Bears after a 2023 deal with the Carolina Panthers for wide receiver D.J. Moore—is estimated to bring in a four-year rookie contract worth over $38.5 million, according to Spotrac (rookie deals are set for four years with a fifth-year option, according to the league). The top five picks in the draft can expect to make over $30 million in their rookie deals, according to Spotrac, with an estimated $36.8 million for the second overall pick and over $32.3 million for the fifth overall selection. The next six picks in the draft (No. 6 through No. 11) are estimated to rake in over $20 million each in their rookie contracts, while lower picks in the first round are expected to land deals north of $12 million.
Big Number
$85 million. That’s how much Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson made between May 2022 and May 2023, including $72 million on the field playing for the Denver Broncos, and $13 million in off-field endorsements, making him the highest-paid player in the league, according to Forbes. Wilson, who signed a one-year contract with Pittsburgh last month after a dismal second act in Denver, will only be making the league minimum veteran salary, worth $1.21 million in the upcoming season—well behind the likes of Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray ($67 million on the field) or Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes ($39.3 million).
Further Reading
