The rookie wage scale was previously put in place to avoid the top picks in the NFL draft from essentially making more money than some multi-year starters were. Obviously, there are still kinks that need to be worked out, but at the very least, a set salary is now in place for how much players who are selected in the draft are paid.
This all stems from the 2011 Collective Bargaining Agreement which set up a value for every pick in the draft from No. 1 to the final overall selection. This includes the total value of each player’s contract, their signing bonus and also the cap hit which the team absorbs. Beyond that, all deals are over four years, but first-round picks have a fifth-year option available to teams.
We’re going to take a look at the latest scale for each round of the draft. It’s worth noting that the rookie wage scale could change in the upcoming seasons, but nothing has been set in stone on that. For round one, it will be broken down by every single pick, but from that point, the contract sizes all get much closer. In turn, we’ll then evaluate the ranges for picks in each of the other rounds.
NFL Rookie Contracts: Round 1
Each pick is set with its current salary and Spotrac has broken them down. We’ll label the total value of picks first, followed by signing bonuses.
| Pick Number | Total Value | Signing Bonus |
| No. 1 | $35,035,000 | $23,500,000 |
| No. 2 | $33,434,347 | $22,335,889 |
| No. 3 | $32,415,769 | $21,595,105 |
| No. 4 | $31,251,646 | $20,748,470 |
| No. 5 | $29,214,446 | $19,266,869 |
| No. 6 | $25,576,601 | $16,621,164 |
| No. 7 | $22,666,324 | $14,504,599 |
| No. 8 | $19,756,047 | $12,388,034 |
| No. 9 | $19,610,368 | $12,282,086 |
| No. 10 | $18,810,201 | $11,700,147 |
| No. 11 | $17,573,345 | $10,800,615 |
| No. 12 | $15,827,165 | $9,530,665 |
| No. 13 | $15,390,626 | $9,213,183 |
| No. 14 | $14,663,059 | $8,684,043 |
| No. 15 | $14,372,048 | $8,472,399 |
| No. 16 | $13,498,945 | $7,837,414 |
| No. 17 | $13,207,916 | $7,625,757 |
| No. 18 | $12,844,137 | $7,361,191 |
| No. 19 | $12,625,859 | $7,202,443 |
| No. 20 | $12,553,108 | $7,149,533 |
| No. 21 | $12,480,349 | $7,096,618 |
| No. 22 | $12,334,830 | $6,990,786 |
| No. 23 | $12,189,321 | $6,884,960 |
| No. 24 | $11,898,292 | $6,673,303 |
| No. 25 | $11,752,782 | $6,567,478 |
| No. 26 | $11,607,245 | $6,461,633 |
| No. 27 | $11,461,753 | $6,355,821 |
| No. 28 | $11,388,994 | $6,302,905 |
| No. 29 | $10,805,156 | $5,878,296 |
| No. 30 | $10,495,976 | $5,653,437 |
| No. 31 | $10,236,987 | $5,465,081 |
| No. 32 | $10,070,227 | $5,343,801 |
NFL Rookie Contracts: Round 2
Although the pay structure varies quite a bit in the first round, it’s not nearly as drastic when evaluating rounds two through seven of the draft currently. Players picked in these rounds receive contracts that are much closer in overall value. First, here’s a general breakdown of the second round, courtesy of Spotrac.
| Pick Range | Total Value | Signing Bonus |
| Picks 33-41 | $7,650,500 to $7,125,435 | $3,584,000 to $3,202,135 |
| Picks 42-48 | $6,994,472 to $6,077,737 | $3,106,889 to $2,440,173 |
| Picks 49-64 | $5,932,210 to $4,578,946 | $2,334,334 to $1,350,142 |
NFL Draft Rookie Contracts: Round 3
| Pick Range | Total Value | Signing Bonus |
| Picks 65-74 | $4,278,420 to $4,028,376 | $1,138,382 to $1,031,870 |
| Picks 75-92 | $3,975,925 to $3,624,290 | $1,002,690 to $863,695 |
| Picks 93-102* | $3,458,115 to $3,399,480 | $793,704 to $761,516 |
*Some picks in this round and often this range are compensatory
NFL Draft Contracts: Rounds 4 -7
| Round | Total Value | Signing Bonus |
| Round 4 | $3,324,499 to $3,006,531* | $804,499 to $486,531 |
| Round 5 | $2,868,832 to $2,753,988* | $348,832 to $233,988 |
| Round 6 | $2,728,511 to $2,647,353* | $208,511 to $127,353 |
| Round 7 | $2,631,885 to $2,594,288* | $111,885 to $74,288 |
*Some picks in this round are compensatory
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NFL Draft Pick Salaries: How Much Do Rookies Make on First Contract?