NFL draft: which picks have guaranteed contracts?
For the 3500 players available to choose from in the NFL draft, their meal ticket for life has been punched when their name is called. Is it though?
With a full seven rounds of draft possibilities, college players would seem to have the world by the tail. Even the lowest drafted player, known as Mr Irrelevant, is expected to get a contract north of $3 million. But what about guarantees?
NFL contracts are famously, or infamously, not normally guaranteed. When a player gets a guarantee, it is usually wrapped up in performance-laced clauses. For example, if a player is cut because they are not good enough to make the team, then the money is not due them. This stands in opposition to getting injured or some other football-related reason that they can not perform, in which case the money is payable.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft will sign a contract likely worth slightly more than $40 million
— Lev Akabas (@LevAkabas) April 24, 2025
In 2010, Sam Bradford's rookie contract was worth $78 million!
That was the last year before the NFL and NFLPA agreed to a new rookie pay scale for drafted players pic.twitter.com/VbfgE06lEA
Rookies who are drafted, from the first overall to Mr Irrelevant, can only have four-year contracts: no more, no less. A fifth year can be negotiated at the end of the third season, but even that has a few caveats associated with it.
Which picks have guaranteed contracts?
If a player does get a new fifth-year extension, that season’s salary is fully guaranteed. At the point that the fifth-year option is picked up, his fourth-year salary becomes guaranteed as well. This will likely be the first time most of these draftees have had such a guarantee.
The amount offered for these extensions are strictly controlled by a Proven Performance Escalator, effectively tying the offer to certain criteria such as whether the player was a Pro Bowler or not, how many starts, tackles, yards, etc. they had, depending on their position. Generally, this escalator represents an average across the league for their experience and position.
In 2025, the 32 first round picks are guaranteed. Information provided by sportac.com.
This is what all the draft picks will get:
No. 1: $43.0 million
No. 2: $41.1 million
No. 3: $39.9 million
No. 4: $38.5 million
No. 5: $36.1 million
No. 6: $31.8 million
No. 7: $28.3 million
No. 8: $24.9 million
No. 9: $24.7 million
No. 10: $23.7 million
No. 11: $22.3 million
No. 12: $20.2 million
No. 13: $19.7 million
No. 14: $18.8 million
No. 15: $18.5 million
No. 16: $17.4 million
No. 17: $17.1 million
No. 18: $16.7 million
No. 19: $16.4 million
No. 20: $16.3 million
No. 21: $16.2 million
No. 22: $16 million
No. 23: $15.9 million
No. 24: $15.5 million
No. 25: $15.3 million
No. 26: $15.2 million
No. 27: $15 million
No. 28: $14.9 million
No. 29: $14.2 million
No. 30: $13.9 million
No. 31: $13.6 million
No. 32: $13.4 million
Rookie contracts, just like other NFL contracts, are made up of signing bonuses, base salaries, offseason workout bonus, etc.
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