The 2025 NFL Draft gets underway on Thursday, April 24, with the Tennessee Titans going on the clock shortly after 8 p.m. ET. They clinched the No. 1 pick and are expected to select Cam Ward to open the draft. From there we’ll be off and running for a little over three hours on Thursday evening.
While we’ll see plenty of trades as teams move around the draft board, we already know roughly what the contracts will look like for the 32 rookies selected in the first round. The NFL and NFL Players Association have negotiated a collective bargaining agreement that spells out how rookie contracts work. That coupled with the annual increased based on television revenue increasing allow experts to come up with rough estimates of the deals.
How much will money will first-round rookies in the 2025 NFL Draft earn in their first contract?
Spotrac and Over The Cap track contracts across the NFL and provide estimates on rookie deals. Spotrac appears to be closer to what we can expect based on previous deals, and it gives us a general ballpark. We know that Cam Ward will sign a deal worth more than $40 million as the No. 1 pick. The Philadelphia Eagles currently hold the No. 32 pick and that slot will sign a deal worth just north of $13 million. The rest of the 30 picks of the first round will have salary slots in descending order. Even if a pick is traded, the contract value is assigned to the slot and not the specific team picking in that slot.
The largest chunk of payment for the rookies will be in the form of a signing bonus. They’ll receive base salaries each of the four year, and any remaining money would come in the form of workout or roster bonuses.
How and when can teams extend a rookie’s contract?
All first-round picks receive a four-year contract with a team option for a fifth year. The team has to decide by May following the player’s third year whether or not to exercise the fifth-year option. That means the fifth-year option decisions for this year’s class will come following the 2027 season. Teams can also first start negotiating a contract extension with these rookies after the 2027 season.
Why did the NFL and NFLPA agree to a rookie wage scale?
The slotting of contract values has mostly removed the issue of training camp holdouts. Prior to the 2011 CBA, rookies might hold out trying to get a higher value. The owners wanted a rookie wage scale in order to bring down the total value of contracts that were going to first-year players. The players were willing to give up the leverage for rookies in hopes of getting more for their veteran players. Opinions vary on if they got enough for what they gave up.
Now, the primary issues for delay in contracts are around offset language and guaranteed money.
What is offset language in NFL contracts?
Offset language covers when a player is released before the end of his contract and signs with another team. If there is offset language, the player’s future team contract will offset whatever guaranteed money the first team still owed the player. If there is no offset language, the player can effectively “double dip” by receiving money owed from his previous team and also receiving new money from his next team. Offset language is something teams always want in deals and players never want.
