How Much Do NFL Rookies Get Paid?

According to Spotrac, the average NFL salary for a rookie is $1.02 million per year. However, first-round draft picks tend to make significantly more than the average player.

NFL Rookie Salary Structure

NFL rookies get paid a lot of money. In fact, they are the highest-paid group of players in the NFL. The average salary for an NFL rookie is $1.02 million. However, there is a wide range of salaries for rookies, depending on where they were drafted. The first overall pick in the NFL draft will make much more money than the last pick in the draft.

NFL Rookie Minimum Salary

According to the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement, each team has a salary cap that determines how much they can spend on player salaries in a given year. The rookie minimum salary is the lowest wage that a first-year player can make, and it is determined by the number of years that a player has been in the NFL.

For example, in 2020, the rookie minimum salary for players with zero to two years of experience is $610,000. Players with three to five years of experience have a minimum salary of $780,000, while players with six or more years of experience have a minimum salary of $1.045 million.

NFL rookies also receive signing bonuses as part of their contracts. These bonuses are typically determined by where a player was drafted, and they can range from a few thousand dollars to millions of dollars. For example, in 2020, the top pick in the NFL draft received a signing bonus of $22.25 million.

NFL Rookie Salary Cap

In the NFL, there is a salary cap that applies to all teams. The salary cap is the total amount of money that a team can spend on player salaries for the year. For the 2020 season, the salary cap is $198.2 million.

Each team must stay under this cap when signing players to new contracts, extending existing contracts, or signing free agents. If a team goes over the salary cap at any point during the year, they are subject to penalties from the league.

The salary cap applies to all players on a team’s roster, including rookies. When a rookie is drafted, they are given a four-year contract with a set amount of money that they will earn over those four years. The NFL has a slotted salary structure for rookies, which means that each pick in the draft has a corresponding amount of money that they will earn based on where they were drafted.

For example, the first overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft will earn a base salary of $10 million over their four-year rookie contract. The last pick in the draft (Mr. Irrelevant) will earn a base salary of $610,000 over their four-year contract. Of course, these are just base salaries and many rookies will earn more money through bonuses and performance-based incentives.

How NFL Rookie Contracts Work

NFL Rookie Signing Bonus

In order to receive a signing bonus, NFL rookies must first sign a contract with the team that drafted them. The signing bonus is typically 20 percent of the total value of the contract and is paid out in equal installments over the life of the deal. In recent years, rookie contracts have become more and more loaded with signing bonuses as teams look to lock up their young players for as long as possible.

For example, the Philadelphia Eagles recently signed quarterback Carson Wentz to a four-year, $26.7 million contract that included a $16.4 million signing bonus. Wentz will receive his signing bonus in equal installments of $4.1 million over the next four years. In total, he will receive $20.5 million in guaranteed money from his rookie contract.

Not all rookies are lucky enough to receive a large signing bonus like Wentz, but most do receive some sort of guaranteed money from their team. This guarantees that they will at least receive their base salary for each year of their rookie deal, even if they are cut or traded by their team before their contract expires.

Length of NFL Rookie Contracts

NFL contracts are not fully guaranteed, meaning that a team can release a player before the end of the contract and not owe them any remaining salary. However, there are certain protections in place for first-round draft picks. They are guaranteed to receive their salary for the first four years of their contract, and the team can only waive them during that time if they fail a physical or violate the league’s personal conduct policy. After four years, the team can release the player at any time without owing them any further salary.

NFL Rookie Salaries by Round

First-Round Rookie Salary

The average salary for a first-round NFL rookie is $8.7 million per year, with a signing bonus of $20.6 million. The total value of the contract is $32.3 million over four years. rookies selected in the first round of the NFL draft receive significantly more money than rookies selected in any other round.

Second-Round Rookie Salary

In the NFL, rookies are paid according to a set salary schedule that is based on their draft round. The lower the draft pick, the lower the salary. In 2019, the base salary for a second-round rookie was $810,000. This means that all second-round rookies will make at least this amount in their first year in the league, regardless of which team they play for. If a player is drafted by a team with a lower salary cap than another team, they may receive a lower salary as well.

Third-Round Rookie Salary

The minimum salary for a third-round rookie in the NFL is $850,000, which is a significant increase from the minimum salary for a seventh-round rookie, which is $550,000. The average salary for a third-round rookie is $1.2 million.

NFL Rookie Salaries by Position

Believe it or not, NFL rookies make a lot of money. The average salary for an NFL rookie is $1.02 million per year. However, the salaries for rookies vary based on their position. For example, quarterbacks tend to make the most money, while kickers and punters make the least.

Quarterback Rookie Salary

As the most important position on the field, it’s no surprise that quarterbacks are the highest-paid NFL rookies. In 2020, the first overall pick in the NFL Draft, Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals, signed a four-year contract worth $36.1 million, with a $23.9 million signing bonus. The average salary for a quarterback taken in the first round of the NFL Draft is approximately $8 million per year.

Running Back Rookie Salary

As of the 2019 NFL season, the average salary for a running back was $2,155,541. The average salary for a rookie running back was $495,000. The highest-paid running back in the NFL is Todd Gurley of the Los Angeles Rams, who has an annual salary of $14.375 million.

Wide Receiver Rookie Salary

According to recent data, the average NFL rookie salary for wide receivers is around $1.6 million. This figure can vary depending on a number of factors, such as draft position, team needs, and individual performance. For example, the first overall pick in the NFL Draft will typically earn more than the last pick in the draft. Similarly, a wide receiver who is considered a “can’t miss” prospect is likely to earn more than a receiver who is considered a “project.” Finally, rookies who perform well during their first year in the league are often rewarded with contract extensions and bonuses that increase their overall earnings.

Tight End Rookie Salary

In 2020, the NFL rookie minimum salary is $610,000. However, nearly all rookies will make more than that due to various factors such as position, draft round, level of experience, and – of course – talent.

The average salary for a tight end in their first year is $817,674. The salary range for tight ends in their first year is $610,000 to $1,147,333.

The top 10 highest-paid tight ends in their rookie years are:

1. Dallas Goedert – $1,147,333
2. Hayden Hurst – $1,110,555
3. T.J. Hockenson – $1,063,636
4. Noah Fant – $1022,480
5. Josh Oliver – $987,500
6. Kaden Smith – $962 960
7. Foster Moreau – 947 000
8. Dawson Knox – $933333
9 CJ Conrad – $905463
10Isaac Nauta – 900 000

NFL Rookie Salaries vs. Veteran Salaries

In general, NFL rookies can expect to make significantly less than veteran players. The NFL has a wage scale that rookie players are paid based on the number of years they have been in the league, with salaries increasing as they gain experience. For example, the minimum salary for a first-year player with no prior NFL experience is $435,000, while a second-year player with one year of experience will earn a minimum of $555,000. In contrast, the average salary for an NFL veteran is $1.07 million.