How Much Do NFL Rookies Make?
Contents
How much money do NFL rookies make? It depends on where they were drafted, their position, and their contract.
Introduction
The exact amount of an NFL rookie contract is not made public. However, we do know that there is a standard salary scale for rookies that is set by the NFL each year. In 2018, the minimum salary for a rookie was $480,000, while the maximum salary was $1,018,000. salaries for rookies can range from $50,000 to as much as $100,000 per year, depending on their position and how they perform.
NFL Rookie Salary Cap
The NFL has a salary cap that all teams must adhere to. The 2019 salary cap is $188.2 million. Each team must have 53 players on its roster and can have a 10-player practice squad. The minimum salary for a player in 2019 is $495,000, which is an increase of $10,000 from 2018. NFL rookies have a slotted salary that corresponds to where they were drafted.
How NFL Rookie Contracts Work
All NFL players are required to enter into a standard contract with their team when they are drafted. But unlike most other professional sports leagues, the NFL has a salary cap that limits how much money each team can spend on player salaries in a given year. So, while first-round draft picks make significantly more money than later-round picks, all rookie contracts are for four years and have predetermined values based on where the player was drafted.
Rookie contracts are also unique in that they have built-in salary increases for each year of the deal. These increases are based on a percentage of the player’s base salary in their first year, and they max out at 30 percent of that base salary after four years. So, if a player is drafted in the first round and signs a contract with a base salary of $1 million in their first year, their base salary would increase to $1.3 million in their fourth and final year under the contract.
Players can also earn additional money through performance-based bonuses written into their contracts. These bonuses can be based on things like playing time, number of sacks or interceptions, or Pro Bowl selections. For example, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson earned a $31,700 bonus for being named NFC Offensive Player of the Month in November 2020
NFL Rookie Minimum Salaries
The National Football League (NFL) pays its players based on a tiered system that rewards players with more experience with higher salaries. NFL rookies, or first-year players, are paid the league minimum salary. In 2020, that figure is $610,000 for rookies who sign a standard four-year contract. However, many NFL rookies sign contracts that pay them less than the league minimum salary in their first year or two in order to free up salary cap space for their team.
Estimated Value of NFL Rookie Contracts
The NFL draft is an exciting time for young football players and fans alike. Every year, a new crop of talented college athletes hope to hear their name called by an NFL team. While being drafted into the NFL is a dream come true for many players, it also comes with a big pay day.
According to Spotrac, the estimated average value of an NFL rookie contract is $4.47 million. However, that number can vary significantly depending on where a player is drafted. For example, the first overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft is projected to sign a four-year deal worth $36 million, while the last pick in the first round is projected to sign a four-year deal worth $11.6 million.
Of course, these are just estimates and the actual value of an NFL rookie contract can vary depending on a number of factors. Nevertheless, it’s safe to say that being drafted into the NFL can be quite lucrative for young players.
NFL Rookie Signing Bonuses
Since the NFL instituted a rookie salary cap in 2011, signing bonuses have represented a larger percentage of the total value of contracts for first-round picks. In 2019, for example, first-round picks received an average of $11.2 million in signing bonuses, or 47.5 percent of the total value of their contracts.
The total value of an NFL contract is typically much higher than the signing bonus itself. In 2019, for example, the average total value of contracts for first-round picks was just over $23 million. The remaining money is typically paid out as a salary over the length of the contract. For example, if a player signs a four-year contract worth $10 million, their salary would be $2.5 million per year.
Conclusion
In conclusion, NFL rookies make a lot of money. They are given large signing bonuses and their salaries are guaranteed. They also receive valuable benefits such as health insurance and a pension plan. NFL rookies are very fortunate to be in such a position.
