Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The NFL's rookie wage scale will see significant increases across all first-round slots, with the top picks potentially earning more than $50 million.
- Each pick in the first round has a predetermined salary value, creating big financial gaps between positions.
- The rising value of rookie contracts and NIL earnings in college, presents a complex decision for top prospects.
Cam Ward signed a $48 million rookie deal nearly a month after the Tennessee Titans took him No. 1 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft. This year, that’s the minimum the No. 4 overall pick could theoretically sign as a rookie. That’s because the NFL uses a salary scale system that increases each season. Meaning each pick has a predetermined value attached to it. There’s a number of reasons for this, but essentially it keeps agents and players from demanding more money when negotiating contracts.
Fernando Mendoza, the projected No. 1 pick, is slotted to sign for a contract worth more than $50 million this year. In fact the top three picks are projected to make upwards of $50 million. For those high-end players, it absolutely pays to make it to the NFL Draft. Of course there’s some players that will wish they stayed in college to collect that NIL money. That said, getting drafted in the first round comes with a significant financial bonus.
Here’s what first-round draft pick rookies will be making in their first NFL contracts and how it compares to previous years.
Rookie contract salary for every first-round draft pick
Top 10 rookie contract scale
PICK NO. | TOTAL CONTRACT VALUE (4 years) |
|---|---|
1 | $54,565,500 |
2 | $52,103,630 |
3 | $50,537,014 |
4 | $48,746,540 |
5 | $45,613,238 |
6 | $40,018,084 |
7 | $35,541,950 |
8 | $31,065,822 |
9 | $30,841,760 |
10 | $29,611,072 |
This is the type of money players like Arvell Reese, David Bailey and several others are in contention of making. It’s also why it’s important to note who could land where because someone like Rueben Bain Jr. falling from a top five pick to closer to No. 10 could cost him more than $20 million. The Kansas City Chiefs and the Dallas Cowboys have been rumored to be interested in trading up for Bain.
Players like Jeremiyah Love have gotten a lot of attention as a possible top five pick. For most of the offseason, Love was mocked to and with the New Orleans Saints or even the Chiefs – this was pre-Kenneth Walker III signing. If Love lands with the Titans instead of the Saints, that’s a $13 million difference. Needless to say, you’re more than compensated for being drafted high.
Mid-round rookie contract scale
PICK NO. | TOTAL CONTRACT VALUE (4 years) |
|---|---|
11 | $27,708,728 |
12 | $25,023,034 |
13 | $24,351,620 |
14 | $23,232,590 |
15 | $22,785,000 |
16 | $21,442,128 |
17 | $20,994,516 |
18 | $20,435,008 |
19 | $20,099,288 |
20 | $19,987,396 |
The disparity is a bit lower, but there’s still a difference getting taken with the No. 11 pick and the No. 20 pick; roughly an $8 million difference. This is the prime area you’ll start to see lineman and cornerbacks start to get taken off the board. These players have good mid-round value while also not costing a whole lot the first four years, compared to the high-end draft picks. The one interesting thing too is that none of the picks 11-20 have an annual average value (AAV) more than $8 million. In fact, once you get outside the top seven picks, you won’t earn more than $10 million in any season.
Late Day 1 rookie contract scale
PICK NO. | TOTAL CONTRACT VALUE (4 years) |
|---|---|
21 | $19,875,486 |
22 | $19,651,672 |
23 | $19,427,870 |
24 | $18,980,258 |
25 | $18,756,456 |
26 | $18,532,620 |
27 | $18,308,844 |
28 | $18,196,940 |
29 | $17,298,970 |
30 | $16,823,440 |
31 | $16,425,104 |
32 | $16,168,614 |
These guys are typically players with high value that you want to get the fifth year option on. Don’t get me wrong, in deep drafts, picks 21-32 hold a lot of value. In fact, these picks may be better than some of the higher picks. If a player is a “bust” but was taken late on Day 1, it feels a lot better than a player drafted top 10 that flops. The difference between these picks and ones taken early in the second round simply come down to getting the fifth year option. If you’re addressing a major need, getting an extra year before offering a lucrative extension could be the difference in making a mistake and finding a future franchise star.
How the rookie wage scale has changed in NFL history
Back in 2020, the No. 1 overall pick was scaled to have a $36 million salary; now the No. 1 overall pick is slotted to make nearly $60 million? In short, it’s been very financially beneficial for top prospects to declare for the draft. Sure you can make NIL money in college, but as a top prospect, the money you could get in the NFL isn’t necessarily worth passing up on. Unless you’re Dante Moore, who spurned the NFL Draft – and most notably the New York Jets – to return to Oregon.
The risk with that is obviously you could get hurt and deplete your draft stock like Drew Allar did or simply play well below expectations and still get left in the depths of the NFL Draft like what could happen to Garrett Nussmeier and Cade Klubnik. That’s the gamble of heading for the NFL Draft.
NIL creates a new era with the NFL rookie salaries
You have to think NIL played a major role in the rookie contract scale increasing as much as it has. Between 2020 and 2024, the value of the No. 1 picks contract went up from $36 million to $39 million. In 2025, it jumped up to $48 million and it’s not at $54 million. In 2027, you could assume it will surpass $60 million. It should be a surprise that the influx in NIL contracts forced the NFL to bump up their salary scales.
Obviously players run out of eligibility eventually – even for the players pleading for an extra year that graduated high school before COVID. But for players like Travis Hunter last year or Mendoza this year, it made a lot of sense for them to pass up on the NIL money to start their professional careers. But say for players like Quinn Ewers, who reportedly had an NIL offer twice the value of his contract, it would make sense to go back to college for another year. Even Carson Beck went back for the 2026 season to collect a bigger NIL check.
At the end of the day the money you make in the NFL is too good to pass up to an extent. If you’re projected to be drafted in the first few rounds, it would be worth it, but if you can make more money in college, the rookie scale contracts don’t exactly play in your favor.
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