What Does an Undrafted Free Agent Make in the NFL?

If you’re wondering what an undrafted free agent in the NFL can expect to make, here’s a quick overview. While there’s no guaranteed money, most players will receive a signing bonus and a minimum salary.

What is an Undrafted Free Agent?

An undrafted free agent in the National Football League (NFL) is a player who did not hear his name called during the NFL Draft. These players are usually signed by NFL teams after the draft has ended, but they are not contracted to their new team. Instead, they are given what is called a “try-out” or “camp invitation.” If they perform well during training camp and pre-season games, they may be offered a contract. The decision to sign an undrafted free agent is up to each individual team.

How Much Do They Make?

You may have heard of NFL players who were undrafted free agents. These are players who were not selected in the NFL Draft, but they still have a chance to play in the league. So, how much money do undrafted free agents make?

Minimum Salary

As of the 2019 NFL season, the minimum salary for an NFL player is $495,000.

Practice Squad Salary

An NFL practice squad player salary is $8,000 per week during the 17-week regular season, which amounts to $136,000 over the course of the season. A practice squad player can be signed to the active roster at any time during the season and is free to sign with any team in the league.

Active Roster Salary

The first step in understanding an NFL player’s salary is to know that there are three different categories of players in the league: the active roster, the practice squad, and those not under contract. The majority of a team’s players will fall into the first category, the active roster. These are the guys who suit up on Sundays (or Mondays or Thursdays) and play in the games. An NFL team can have up to 53 players on its active roster at any given time during the season.

The Salary Cap and Rookie Contracts
Now that we know who is who, let’s talk about how much they make. The amount of money an NFL player can earn is governed by a salary cap set by the league each year. For 2019, that number is $188.2 million per team. That may seem like a lot, but it’s important to remember that it has to cover 53 active roster spots, 10 practice squad spots, and all of their coaches and support staff.

Rookie contracts are Slotted
One other thing to keep in mind is that rookie contracts are “slotted.” This means that there is very little negotiating when it comes to how much a young player will make in his first NFL contract. Where a veteran free agent might be able to command a higher salary based on his past performance and/or value to his new team, a draft pick’s salary is dictated by where he was selected in the draft.

Active Roster Salary
The minimum base salary for an NFL player in 2019 is $495,000—meaning a first-year player on an active roster will make at least this amount of money this season (unless he agrees to sign for less). A player with two years of experience would be eligible for a minimum base salary of $555,000 while a player with 10 or more years of experience would be looking at a minimum base salary of $1.015 million this season

How to Make More Money

The first step to making more money is to do your research. You need to know what an undrafted free agent makes in the NFL so that you can negotiate your own contract. An undrafted free agent can make a minimum of $285,000 in their first year, but there is no maximum salary. In order to make more money, you need to sign a better contract.

Signing Bonus

An undrafted free agent is an athlete who did not Hear his name called during the NFL Draft, but still hopes to make an NFL roster. These athletes are typically signed by NFL teams to rookie mini-camps, which are essentially try-outs, in order to earn a spot on a team’s 90-man offseason roster. If an undrafted free agent is one of the lucky few to make it past cut-downs and into the regular season, he will earn a significantly lower salary than those players who were drafted. In recent years, the NFL has implemented a wage scale for rookies that has helped to level the playing field somewhat between drafted and undrafted players, but there is still a significant difference in earnings.

In 2020, the NFL’s minimum salary for rookies is $610,000. Undrafted free agents typically earn league minimum salaries, with very few exceptions. In addition to their base salary, all NFL players receive per-game active roster bonuses (“per diems”) of $32,000 per game that they are on an active roster (45-man gameday roster + 8-man practice squad). So, if an undrafted free agent makes an NFL roster and is active for all 16 regular season games, he will earn a total of $856,000 in salary and bonuses ($610,000 base salary + $32,000 x 16 games).

In recent years, a small number of undrafted free agents have been able to secure signing bonuses in excess of $100,000. Signing bonuses are typically reserved for drafted players only, but there have been a few cases where UDFA’s have been able to negotiate them. This is usually only done by players with strong collegiate resumes who are considered “long shots” to make an NFL roster. Players who sign signing bonuses typically have language in their contracts that stipulate that if they do not make the team’s 53-man roster out of training camp/preseason, they will be immediately released and their signing bonus will be forfeited.

Performance-Based Bonuses

An undrafted free agent’s salary is typically the league minimum for their first contract year, which is $495,000 for rookies in 2020. However, these players can earn more money through performance-based bonuses.

There are two types of bonuses that an undrafted free agent can earn: signing bonus and roster bonus. A signing bonus is a one-time payment given to the player when he signs his contract. A roster bonus is a per-game bonus that is paid out to the player for being on the 53-man roster.

The amount of each bonus varies depending on the player’s position, but it is not uncommon for an undrafted free agent to earn a signing bonus of $10,000-$20,000 and a roster bonus of $500-$1,000 per game.

Incentives

Incentives are a key part of any Undrafted Free Agent’s (UDFA) contract. They are often used to persuade a player to sign with a team that may not have as much money to offer up front. Incentives can be earned based on playing time, team success, and individual statistical milestones. They can be given in the form of bonuses, which are paid out in addition to the player’s salary, or as part of the salary itself. Here is a list of some of the more common incentives found in NFL contracts:

-Signing bonus: This is a one-time payment made to the player when he signs his contract. It is designed to give the player a financial incentive to sign with the team.
-Roster bonus: This is a bonus that is paid out to the player if he is on the team’s active roster for a certain number of games or days during the season.
-Workout bonus: This bonus is paid to the player if he participates in a certain number of offseason workouts or training camp practices with the team.
-Performance bonus: This bonus is paid to the player based on his individual performance during the season. It can be based on statistical milestones, such as number of tackles, sacks, interceptions, etc., or it can be based on playing time.
-Pro Bowl bonus: This bonus is paid to players who are selected to participate in the Pro Bowl.
-Super Bowl bonus: This bonus is paid to players who win a Super Bowl with their team.

Where Do They Stand Contractually?

An undrafted free agent in the National Football League (NFL) typically receives a minimum salary of $310,000, which is the same as a first-year player drafted in the latter rounds of the NFL Draft. However, there is no guarantee that an undrafted free agent will make the team’s 53-man roster, so their earning potential is largely dependent on their performance in training camp and the preseason.

Undrafted Free Agents vs. Drafted Rookies

In the NFL, there is a big difference between being drafted and signing as an undrafted free agent. For starters, money. An average drafted rookie this year will make $822,02 compared to the $69,000 that an undrafted free agent will make. But it gets worse for UFAs. They do not have fully guaranteed contracts like rookies who were drafted do. So if an undrafted free agent makes the team, he is not guaranteed to collect his entire salary. And if he doesn’t make the team, he gets nothing.

Undrafted Free Agents vs. Veterans

When it comes to compensation, undrafted free agents are at a disadvantage compared to veterans. Undrafted free agents typically make the league minimum, which is $495,000 for first-year players in 2020. Veterans with four or more years of experience make a minimum of $910,000. In addition, veterans can earn bonuses and other forms of compensation that are not available to undrafted free agents.