The Average Salary of Rookie NFL Players
First-year players in the NFL, also known as rookies, are paid according to the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement. Salaries are based on the rookie salary pool, which allows a certain total amount to be paid to all of a team's rookies. Rookies on each of the 32 NFL teams are paid at the same frequency of other players and get a check every other week during the regular football season.
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Base Salary
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Each rookie in the NFL earned at least a base salary of $325,000 in 2010, according to USA Today. The base salary does not include any bonuses or money earned from endorsements or other sources. Bonuses, including signing bonuses and performance bonuses, are paid separately. This NFL-low salary is usually paid to the final selections to a team from the NFL draft each season.
Rookie Salary Pool
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A first-year player's salary is comprised of three things: base salary, prorated signing bonus and "likely to be earned" bonuses. Other incentives written into a player's contract do not go toward a team's rookie salary pool figure. Each team's rookie salary pool figure changes yearly and in 2010 the St. Louis Rams had the highest total rookie salary pool at $7,596,000.
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Top Salaries
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In the past two NFL drafts the top players chosen have set new records for the highest paid rookie players in the league. In 2010, the Rams signed quarterback Sam Bradford to a contract worth a total of $78 million over six seasons, including $50 million in guaranteed money. The previous year, the Detroit Lions signed quarterback Matthew Stafford to what was then the highest rookie contract --- a six-year deal worth $72 million.
Minimum Salaries
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Top rookie salaries are not the norm in the league; many players only make the base salary. In a final tally of 2009 salaries, USA Today reported that rookies at each position in the league only earned the minimum salary and did not get bonuses. These players are usually low-round draft choices --- rounds five through seven --- and play for teams with low rookie salary pool figures.
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References
- The Sport Journal: The NFL Rookie Cap: An Empirical Analysis of One of the NFL's Most Closely Guarded Secrets
- USA Today: Money Management a Difficult Lesson for NFL's Rookie Class
- Ask the Commish: Salary Cap FAQ
- ESPN: Rams Give Bradford $50 Million Guaranteed
- SBNation: 2010 NFL draft rookie salary pool released
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/liquidlibrary/Getty Images
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Comments
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a rookie should not make more than a Dr. the base pay for a rookie should be at the most 150 K.
