Under the 2020 collective bargaining agreement, NFL rookie pay is set largely by draft position: every drafted player signs a four-year contract drawn from a league-wide rookie pool, and undrafted free agents sign three-year deals. First-round picks carry one more layer, a club-held fifth-year option whose salary depends on playing time and Pro Bowl selections and becomes fully guaranteed once a team exercises it.
Updated for the 2026 season.
How do rookie contracts work?
Article 7 of the CBA caps what all 32 clubs can spend on rookies. The league sets a Year-One Rookie Compensation Pool each year, which rises at least in step with the salary cap. For the 2021 through 2030 drafts, the Total Rookie Compensation Pool, the limit on rookie pay across the full length of every rookie contract, equals the year-one pool multiplied by 5.5.
Each club then receives a Rookie Allocation: its proportional share of the pool based on the specific picks it holds, plus a reserve for undrafted players. A team with the first overall pick receives a larger allocation than a team picking 32nd, and a club may not sign rookie contracts that exceed either its year-one or its total allocation. In practice this produces a fixed price tag for every draft slot, which is why rookie deals are often described as "slotted."
For a side-by-side look at how deals differ by round, see the National Football Post breakdown of the differences in rookie contracts.
Contract length
The CBA describes rookie contract length as fixed and unalterable.
| Player type | Contract length | Club option |
|---|---|---|
| First-round pick | 4 years | Fifth-year option |
| Rounds 2 through 7 (including compensatory picks) | 4 years | None |
| Undrafted free agent | 3 years | None |
What can and cannot be negotiated
Because the total value is effectively fixed by the slot, agents negotiate around the edges. The main open items are how much of the deal is guaranteed, when the signing bonus is paid, and whether the contract includes offset language, which lets a team reduce guaranteed money it still owes a released player by what he earns from a new club. The 2021 negotiation between the Jets and No. 2 pick Zach Wilson, for example, turned on offsets and the timing of the bonus payment.
The CBA also sets hard limits on structure:
- Signing bonus money is prorated for cap purposes over no more than four years.
- No rookie contract may raise a player's salary in any year by more than 25 percent of his year-one rookie salary.
- Guarantees for skill, injury and cap-related release are allowed, but a guarantee in year three or four requires the same guarantee in the year before it.
- Option bonuses, voidable years, most salary advances and other "contract within a contract" devices are prohibited.
- Performance incentives are limited to playing-time thresholds.
2026 rookie minimum salary
Most mid- and late-round picks, and nearly all undrafted players, earn the league minimum in each year of their deals plus a modest signing bonus. Article 26 sets the minimum by credited seasons, and a rookie in 2026 has none. A player who earns a credited season each year moves up one row annually.
| Season | Credited seasons | Active/inactive list minimum |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 0 | $885,000 |
| 2027 | 1 | $1,050,000 |
| 2028 | 2 | $1,165,000 |
| 2029 | 3 | $1,280,000 |
Rookie contract values by draft slot
Over The Cap publishes estimated running cash totals for each 2026 draft slot under the Article 7 formula. The figures below are those estimates, not signed contract values, and exclude compensatory picks. As a cross-check, No. 4 pick Carnell Tate signed with the Titans for a reported four years and $51.1 million, fully guaranteed, including a $33.6 million signing bonus.
| Draft slot (2026) | Est. cash through 2026 | Est. cash through 2029 (4 years) |
|---|---|---|
| No. 1 overall | $39,666,384 | $58,191,906 |
| No. 5 overall | $32,680,564 | $48,586,402 |
| No. 32 (last pick of Round 1) | $9,703,724 | $16,993,244 |
| Last pick of Round 2 | $3,113,100 | $7,931,136 |
| Last pick of Round 7 | $1,007,600 | $4,502,600 |
Undrafted free agents
Undrafted rookies sign three-year contracts. Their signing bonuses come out of a per-club Undrafted Rookie Reservation, which was set at a maximum of $160,000 per club in 2021 and has grown each year since by the same percentage as the total rookie pool. Undrafted players can renegotiate after their second contract year rather than their third.
Second- through seventh-rounders: the Proven Performance Escalator
Players drafted in rounds two through seven do not have a fifth-year option. Instead, the CBA gives them a mandatory raise in year four, the Proven Performance Escalator, if they meet one of three levels in their first three seasons. Only the highest level earned applies, and the raise cannot be guaranteed.
- Level One: at least 35 percent of the team's offensive or defensive snaps in two of the first three seasons, or a 35 percent cumulative average (60 percent for second-rounders). Year-four salary rises to the restricted free agent tender at the player's original draft round.
- Level Two: at least 55 percent of snaps in each of the first three seasons. Same tender plus $250,000.
- Level Three: one or more Pro Bowl selections on the original ballot. Salary rises to the second-round restricted free agent tender.
The fifth-year option explained
A team may extend any first-round pick's rookie contract from four years to five. The decision belongs to the club alone; the player cannot block it, and there can be no fee or bonus tied to exercising or declining it. Recent examples include the Lions declining linebacker Jack Campbell's option and other fifth-year option decisions involving Kenny Pickett.
Fifth-year option deadline
The club must give written notice after the final regular-season game of the player's third season and before May 3 of the following league year. For the 2023 draft class, the window opened Jan. 5, 2026, and the deadline was May 1, 2026. For the 2024 class, the CBA window runs from the end of the 2026 regular season until before May 3 of the 2027 league year; as of Oct. 23, 2026, the NFL had not published a specific 2027 deadline.
Is the fifth-year option guaranteed?
Yes. For players drafted in 2018 and later, the entire option-year salary becomes guaranteed for skill, injury and cap-related release the moment the team exercises it. For 2016 and 2017 first-rounders, the guarantee covered injury only until the player was on the active roster at the start of the option year; the current rule is why teams now treat the decision as a firm commitment.
How the option salary is calculated
The 2020 CBA sorts players into four tiers based on their first three seasons. Only Pro Bowl selections on the original ballot count; alternates do not. A player meets the playing-time standard by reaching 75 percent of his team's offensive or defensive snaps in two of three seasons, a 75 percent cumulative average over three seasons, or at least 50 percent in each of the three seasons. Position is the one he played most in his third year.
| Tier | Qualifier | Option salary |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | No original-ballot Pro Bowl and no playing-time threshold met | Average of the 3rd through 25th highest salaries at the position (transition-tender method) |
| Playing time | No Pro Bowl, but at least one playing-time threshold met | Average of the 3rd through 20th highest salaries at the position |
| One Pro Bowl | Exactly one original-ballot Pro Bowl | Transition tender at the position for the player's fourth year |
| Two or more Pro Bowls | Two or more original-ballot Pro Bowls | Franchise tender at the position for the player's fourth year |
Option-year salary does not count against the rookie pool or the 25 percent increase rule.
2027 option salaries: the 2023 first-round class
Teams exercised the option for most of the 2023 first round. Declines included quarterback Anthony Richardson (Colts), tackle Broderick Jones (Steelers), linebacker Jack Campbell (Lions), cornerback Deonte Banks (Giants), defensive tackle Mazi Smith (Jets) and edge rusher Myles Murphy (Bengals). The NFL does not publish a per-player table of option salaries; Bryce Young's figure is from Over The Cap's contract listing, and the other amounts are as reported by ESPN and Pro Football Rumors.
| Player (pick) | Position | Decision | 2027 option salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bryce Young (No. 1) | QB | Exercised | $25,904,000 |
| Will Anderson Jr. (No. 3) | Edge | Exercised, later extended | $21.5 million |
| Anthony Richardson (No. 4) | QB | Declined | About $22.5 million |
| Jalen Carter (No. 9) | DT | Exercised | About $27.1 million |
| Darnell Wright (No. 10) | OT | Exercised | $19.07 million |
| Jahmyr Gibbs (No. 12) | RB | Exercised | $14.29 million |
| Jack Campbell (No. 18) | LB | Declined | $21.93 million |
| Quentin Johnston (No. 21) | WR | Exercised | $18 million |
| Zay Flowers (No. 22) | WR | Exercised | $27.3 million |
Did the Panthers pick up Bryce Young's fifth-year option?
Yes. Carolina filed the paperwork on April 29, 2026, keeping the 2023 No. 1 overall pick under contract through the 2027 season. Over The Cap lists his fully guaranteed 2027 option salary at $25,904,000, matching Pro Football Rumors; ESPN reported a figure of $26.5 million.
Projected 2028 option salaries: the 2024 class
The next decisions, due in spring 2027, cover the 2024 first round, including quarterback Bo Nix (No. 12) and receivers Marvin Harrison Jr. (No. 4) and Malik Nabers (No. 6). Over The Cap's projections by position and tier are below; final amounts depend on 2027 tender figures.
| Position | Basic | Playing time | One Pro Bowl | Two+ Pro Bowls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterback | $25,836,000 | $29,970,000 | $43,763,000 | $50,308,000 |
| Wide receiver | $17,198,000 | $18,950,000 | $26,544,000 | $30,914,000 |
| Offensive line | $21,097,000 | $22,355,000 | $27,474,000 | $30,125,000 |
| Tight end | $9,378,000 | $10,417,000 | $14,703,000 | $17,479,000 |
| Defensive end | $14,244,000 | $15,972,000 | $23,367,000 | $27,958,000 |
| Defensive tackle | $15,222,000 | $16,902,000 | $24,806,000 | $29,925,000 |
| Linebacker | $16,467,000 | $17,975,000 | $25,028,000 | $29,902,000 |
| Cornerback | $13,051,000 | $14,253,000 | $19,562,000 | $23,119,000 |
The CBA groups all offensive linemen together and classifies 3-4 edge rushers as linebackers, which is why tiers for some edge players differ.
When can rookies sign an extension?
A drafted player's rookie contract cannot be renegotiated, amended or extended until after the final regular-season game of his third contract year. Undrafted players become eligible after their second year. That means the 2024 draft class, including Nix, Harrison Jr., Nabers and Eagles defensive back Cooper DeJean, first becomes eligible once the 2026 regular season ends. DeJean, the 40th pick, was a second-rounder, so his deal has no fifth-year option; his four-year contract runs through 2027 and he is covered by the Proven Performance Escalator instead.
Related reference pages
Sources
- NFL-NFLPA Collective Bargaining Agreement (2020), Article 7: Rookie Compensation and Rookie Compensation Pool (hosted by Over The Cap)
- CBA Article 7, Section 7: Fifth-Year Option for First Round Selections (hosted by Over The Cap)
- CBA Article 26: Minimum Salaries (hosted by Over The Cap)
- Fifth-year option tracker for first-round picks from 2023 NFL Draft (NFL.com)
- 2026 NFL Draft: First-round pick signing tracker (NFL.com)
- Panthers pick up the fifth-year option on quarterback Bryce Young's contract (Carolina Panthers)
- Bryce Young contract details (Over The Cap)
- Fifth Year Option Projections (Over The Cap)
- Rookie Contract Cash Flows (Over The Cap)
- NFL fifth-year option tracker: 2023 first-round draft class (ESPN, via ABC7; secondary)
- 2027 NFL Fifth-Year Option Tracker (Pro Football Rumors; secondary)
- Jets' Zach Wilson signs rookie deal (ESPN; secondary)
- Eagles select Cooper DeJean with No. 40 pick in 2024 draft (NFL.com)