How much money do NFL draft picked players make?

Published: Apr 25, 2024

Hundreds of college football players will be hoping their NFL dreams become a reality at the NFL Draft this week.

Should they hear their names called it will mean their lives could change overnight, as they get the chance to break into the NFL and open the door to potential big-money contracts.

But how much will players earn after being drafted? The rookie wage scale means that all salaries are now pre-determined. Here is a closer look.

What is the rookie wage scale?

First introduced in 2011, the rookie wage scale assigns limits to each team’s rookie class, with each draft slot assigned a specific salary parameter.

The purpose of this was to prevent rookies from signing huge contracts before they had played a single NFL snap.

Former St Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford was the last number one draft pick before the rookie wage scale was introduced, with the 2010 No.1 selection landing a six-year, $78million contract.

How much money will first-round draft picks make?

The first overall pick of the 2024 draft will sign a four-year deal worth around $38.5million, including a signing bonus of $24.8million. This is up slightly from the deal that last year’s No.1 pick Bryce Young signed, which was worth $37.9million.

Salaries will then drop slightly for each first-round pick, with the final pick of the first round set to sign a deal worth $12.75million. All first-round picks sign four-year deals, with the team having an option to extend to a fifth year.

How much do players outside the first round earn?

In the second round, contracts start at $9.9million and drop to $6.3million. The third round goes from $6million to $5.5million, while the parameters for the fourth round are between $4.5million and $4.8million.

This number continues to decrease right until the end of the seventh round when the final draft pick - known as Mr Irrelevant - will be able to sign a $4.09million deal.