The first $50 million contracts will be signed this year by NFL draftees since the league’s rookie wage scale was implemented in 2011.
As the NFL’s annual salary cap continues to experience unprecedented growth—surpassing $300 million for the first time in 2026—rookies are also benefiting from the influx of cash, especially top draft picks.
The No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, widely assumed to be Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza to the Raiders, is projected to sign a four-year, $54.56 million contract. The total contract values of the second and third picks are also projected to top $50 million each.
Last year’s No. 1 pick, Titans quarterback Cam Ward, signed a four-year, $48.84 million deal. The 2025 NFL Draft marked the first $40 million-plus contracts for rookies under the current system, as the top-five picks all topped that number. Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, signed a four-year contract worth $39.5 million.
Growing Guarantees
All 32 first-round picks sign fully guaranteed four-year contracts, with team options for a fifth year. Picks in rounds 2-7 have some, but not all, of their money guaranteed.
This year, the money guaranteed in first-round pick contracts will surpass $800 million for the first time, marking a 43.65% increase since 2022 (the NFL’s salary cap has risen 44.66% in that same timeframe).
- 2026: $863.15 million
- 2025: $776.08 million
- 2024: $639.71 million
- 2023: $608.80 million
- 2022: $600.84 million
The NFL implemented its rookie wage scale—effectively a salary cap for draftees—in 2011, after contract values for top picks had soared to unprecedented levels.
Former Rams quarterback Sam Bradford, the No. 1 pick in the 2010 draft, signed a six-year, $78 million contract, with $50 million fully guaranteed. The next season, with the new wage scale, 2011 No. 1 draft pick Cam Newton signed a four-year, $22 million deal with the Panthers.
