This year’s NFL Draft in Kansas City will result in life-changing money for most draft picks, particularly those selected in the first round.
Last year’s No. 1 overall pick Travon Walker signed a four-year deal worth $37.4 million with the Jacksonville Jaguars. While first-round picks can expect to sign rookie contracts in the range of $10 to 40 million range, that number tends to decrease the lower a player is selected.
For example, last year’s Mr. Irrelevant Brock Purdy signed a four-year, $3.7 million contract with the San Francisco 49ers before quarterbacking them into the NFC Championship game.
Seventh-round picks will still typically make more than undrafted free agents, who usually sign for around the league minimum of $705,000 per year last season.
Several undrafted NFL players became Hall of Famers, including Warren Moon, who was among the league’s best quarterbacks in the 1980s and 1990s. Moon made about $37 million in career salary earnings, but that wasn’t enough to crack our list of the top-15 highest career contract earnings for undrafted NFL players, given the league’s salary cap growth over the past twenty years. Here’s our top-15 based on contract data from Spotrac.
Top 15 Undrafted Earners
| Rank | Player | Position | Career Earnings |
| 1 | Tony Romo | Quarterback | $127,422,458 |
| 2 | Jason Peters | Offensive tackle | $119,174,582 |
| 3 | Shaquil Barrett | Linebacker | $78,146,611 |
| 4 | Adam Thielen | Wide receiver | $75,131,941 |
| 5 | Antonio Gates | Tight end | $70,956,236 |
| 6 | Chris Harris | Cornerback | $68,993,414 |
| 7 | Tramon Williams | Cornerback | $64,109,192 |
| 8 | Jake Delhomme | Quarterback | $63,474,061 |
| 9 | Kurt Warner | Quarterback | $62,773,000 |
| 10 | Andrew Norwell | Offensive guard | $62,524,631 |
| 11 | Donald Penn | Offensive tackle | $60,930,737 |
| 12 | Brent Grimes | Cornerback | $60,688,958 |
| 13 | Cameron Wake | Defensive end | $60,641,875 |
| 14 | Michael Bennett | Defensive end | $60,641,875 |
| 15 | Case Keenum | Quarterback | $51,934,877 |
Honorable mentions: Kicker Adam Vinatieri ($51,131,999), Kicker Justin Tucker ($47,573,599), Linebacker Bart Scott ($45,511,500), Linebacker James Harrison ($43,237,583), Quarterback Taysom Hill ($42,670,000), Wide receiver Wes Welker ($40,845,098), Wide receiver Rod Smith ($40,641,100), and Wide receiver Doug Baldwin ($40,069,269).
