Top college football players can expect a major windfall Thursday night when the 2024 NFL Draft kicks off in Detroit, providing 32 first-round picks rookie contracts estimated to be worth upwards of $38 million, though rookie deals landed in this weekend’s draft will start plummeting as each round progresses.
The top pick in the NFL draft is estimated to make over $38.5 million in their rookie contract.
The first overall pick in the draft—awarded to the Chicago Bears after a 2023 deal with the Carolina Panthers for wide receiver D.J. Moore—is estimated to bring in a four-year rookie contract worth over $38.5 million, according to Spotrac (rookie deals are set for four years with a fifth-year option, according to the league).
The top five picks in the draft can expect to make over $30 million in their rookie deals, according to Spotrac, with an estimated $36.8 million for the second overall pick and over $32.3 million for the fifth overall selection.
The next six picks in the draft (No. 6 through No. 11) are estimated to rake in over $20 million each in their rookie contracts, while lower picks in the first round are expected to land deals north of $12 million.
Second-round picks will make slightly less, according to Spotrac, which estimates the first pick of the second round will pull in just under $10 million in their rookie deal, while the last selection of that round is estimated to land a deal around $6.3 million.
Contracts continue to decline in value as the draft progresses, ending with the final pick in the seventh round, nicknamed “Mr. Irrelevant,” who is expected to land a rookie deal just above $4 million.
Once set, those contracts are final for the time being: rookie contracts for drafted newcomers cannot be “renegotiated, amended or altered in any way” until players complete their final regular season game in their third year, according to the league collective bargaining agreement.
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USC quarterback Caleb Williams is widely considered to be the first overall pick in the draft, according to mock drafts by the NFL Network, CBS Sports, USA Today and The Athletic, and while the Chicago Bears have the No. 1 pick locked down, there’s no guarantee the Bears will pick Williams, or that they will make the first overall pick at all, pending a last-minute trade. The next picks in the first round have been awarded to the Washington Commanders, New England Patriots, Arizona Cardinals and Los Angeles Chargers, who are expected to use their picks to add to their offense, likely choosing among LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels, North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye, Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. and Alabama tackle JC Latham. Among the other expected top picks are LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers, Notre Dame tackle Joe Alt, Alabama edge rusher Dallas Turner and Michigan quarterback JJ McCarthy.
$85 million. That’s how much Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson made between May 2022 and May 2023, including $72 million on the field playing for the Denver Broncos, and $13 million in off-field endorsements, making him the highest-paid player in the league, according to Forbes. Wilson, who signed a one-year contract with Pittsburgh last month after a dismal second act in Denver, will only be making the league minimum veteran salary, worth $1.21 million in the upcoming season—well behind the likes of Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray ($67 million on the field) or Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes ($39.3 million).
