The 2025 NFL Draft will begin on Thursday, April 24th, with the Tennessee Titans having a clock coming in just after 8pm. They are expected to close out the No. 1 pick and choose Cam Ward to open the draft. From there, I run off in just over three hours on a Thursday evening.
We see a lot of deals as the team moves around the draft board, but we know roughly what the 32 rookie contracts selected in the first round look like. The NFL and NFL Players Association negotiated a collective bargaining agreement explaining how rookies work. Coupled with an annual increase based on an increase in television revenue, experts can come up with rough estimates of transactions.
How much will the first round drookey of the 2025 NFL Draft make on his first contract?
Spotrac and On the cap Track contracts throughout the NFL and provide estimates for newcomers transactions. Spotrac appears to be close to what you can expect based on previous deals and offers a general ballpark. Cam Ward knows he’ll sign a deal worth more than $40 million as the No. 1 pick. The Philadelphia Eagles currently hold the No. 32 pick, which signs a deal worth $13 million north. The rest of the 30 picks in the first round have the pay slots descending. Even if a pick is traded, the contract value is assigned to a slot, not a specific team that selects that slot.
The biggest payment for a rookie is in the form of a signature bonus. They receive each base salary for four years, and the remaining money comes in the form of training or roster bonuses.
How can a team extend a rookie contract?
All first-round picks receive a 5th year team option and a 4-year contract. Teams will need to decide by May, following their third year of the player whether to exercise their fifth year option. This means that the decision to decide on the fifth year option for this year’s class continues in the 2027 season. Teams could also begin negotiating contract extensions with these rookies first after the 2027 season.
Why did the NFL and NFLPA agree to the new employee wage scale?
Contract value slots removed the holdout issue primarily for training camp. Before the 2011 CBA, the rookie may refrain from trying to gain higher value. The owner wanted the rookie wage scale to reduce the total value of the contract that goes to the first year player. The players tried to give up rookie leverage in the hopes of getting more for the veteran players. Opinions differ when they are sufficient for what they give up.
Currently, the main issues with contract delays are about offset language and guaranteed money.
What is the offset language for NFL contracts?
The offset language is covered when a player is released before the end of the contract and signs with another team. If there is an offset language, the player’s future team contract will offset the guaranteed money the first team still owes the player. Without an offset language, players can effectively “double dip” by receiving money paid from previous teams and receiving new money from the next team. Offset language is something your team wants to trade at all times, and what players never want.
