What is the guaranteed salary for the first picks in the NFL draft?
Within the guaranteed salary for NFL rookies, there are separate payscales for those whose names are called in the draft. We take a look at the numbers.
The 2022 NFL Draft is a few days away and the jockeying for pole position in the draft order occupies the largest amount of column inches. As the debate rages on and the mock drafts fluctuate, nobody can be sure if top ranked Aidan Hutchinson will go number one overall, or if he will be pipped to the post by Evan Neal or Ahmad Garner.
One thing is certain, though, the top draft pick comes with a hefty payday. The NFL collective bargaining agreement provides for a raft of protections around pay for rookies including minimum and maximum salaries, as well as graduated quantified amounts for each of the 262 draft places.
The league minimum salary for a rookie in 2022 is $705,000 but for any of the players whose names are called in the draft, that amount will be a drop in the bucket. The number one pick goes to the Jacksonville Jaguars and they will have to part with a projected $41,465,408 according to Spotrac, including a $27,336,660 signing bonus for their chosen player.
The amount graduates down the list, but even Mr Irrelevant, who will go to the San Francisco 49ers in 2022, will get $3,746,417 and a signing bonus of $86,417 for his trouble.
The rookie wage scale sees rookie salaries ringfenced within the overall salary cap and tied to its growth. There is a league-wide limit on the total that teams can spend on rookies and all rookie contracts are for four years, no exceptions.
Going undrafted may allow a player to negotiate outside of these parameters but with guarantees of this size, it is always better to bet on the winning horse.