What Do NFL Draft Picks Get Paid?

Do you know how much NFL draft picks get paid? If you’re curious about the salaries of these young athletes, read on for more information.

Introduction

An NFL draft pick’s salary is based on the round he was drafted in as well as his position.

1st round draft picks make the most money, with salaries starting at $10 million. The average salary for a 1st round pick is $5.2 million per year. Salaries decrease incrementally for each subsequent round, with 7th rounders making an average of $1 million per year. Undrafted free agents make even less, with salaries starting at the minimum NFL salary of $495,000 per year.

Rookie salaries are not guaranteed, so if a player is cut from the team, he will not receive any money owed to him under his rookie contract. However, if a player is traded during his rookie contract, he will receive the guaranteed money that was left on his contract from his original team.

NFL Draft Basics

The NFL Draft Process

The NFL draft is an annual event in which the 32 NFL teams select new players for their rosters. The draft order is determined by each team’s record in the previous season, with the worst team picking first and the best team picking last. The first round of the draft is followed by rounds two through seven.

Each team is allowed 10 minutes to make its first-round pick, and seven minutes for each pick in rounds two through seven. If a team does not make its pick within its allotted time, it can lose its right to that pick.

The draft is typically held in April, although it has been held as late as May in some years. It is usually held over a three-day weekend, with Round 1 on Friday night, Rounds 2 and 3 on Saturday afternoon, and Rounds 4 through 7 on Sunday afternoon.

NFL Draft Eligibility

To be eligible for the NFL Draft, players must have been out of high school for at least three years and must have used up their eligibility in college. Players are not eligible for the draft if they are still in high school, or if they have been out of high school for less than three years.

There are a few other rules that can make a player ineligible for the NFL Draft. For example, if a player is on probation or has been declared academically ineligible by his college, he will not be able to enter the draft.

NFL Draft Pick Salaries

NFL draft picks are selected through a process that includes evaluation from team scouts, front office personnel, and the coaching staff. After being drafted, NFL rookies sign four-year contracts with their respective teams. The NFL’s rookie wage scale determines how much draft picks will earn during their first NFL season. So, how much do NFL draft picks get paid?

Salary Structure

NFL draft picks sign four-year contracts with their chosen team. The team has the option to extend that contract for a fifth year, but only for first-round picks. For all other players, their fourth year is effectively a “prove it” year, after which they can become free agents if they haven’t already been cut.

Rookie salaries are slotted by draft pick, so each player knows how much he’ll be making before he even steps on an NFL field. However, there is some wiggle room within those rookie contracts. While the overall value of the contract is fixed, how that value is doled out can vary. For example, a higher draft pick might get a larger signing bonus than a lower pick (which would obviously be beneficial to the player).

Rookie Wage Scale

All draft picks are now slotted under the NFL’s “rookie wage scale.” The scale dictates how much each pick in each round should be paid, and it’s based on where the player is selected in the draft. Generally speaking, the higher the pick, the more money the player will make.

The NFL’s rookie wage scale was put into place in 2011 as part of the league’s new collective bargaining agreement with its players. Prior to that, rookies were free to negotiate their own contracts with teams. But that led to some extremely large paydays for high draft picks — including a record-setting $50 million contract for No. 1 overall pick JaMarcus Russell in 2007 — and relatively small salaries for late-round picks.

The new rookie wage scale evens things out a bit, although first-round picks still tend to be the highest-paid players in their draft class. Here’s a look at how much each pick in the 2018 NFL Draft is expected to earn under the rookie wage scale:

Rookie Wage Scale
1st Pick: $10,922,000
2nd Pick: $7,621,600
3rd Pick: $5,115,400
4th Pick: $4,112,800
5th Pick: $3,610,200

Conclusion

In conclusion, NFL draft picks get paid based on their round selected, with the higher rounds earning more money. The exception to this is if a player is drafted as a “first-rounder,” in which case they will sign a four- year contract worth a guaranteed amount of money. Beyond their rookie contract, NFL players earn varying salaries depending on their experience, skill, and position played.