Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud took the NFL by storm after he was selected with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, earning Offensive Rookie of the Year honors and becoming the youngest quarterback in NFL history to win a postseason game.
He regressed slightly in his sophomore season, but is still regarded as one of the best young quarterbacks in the league. Let’s examine his contract, salary, net worth, and more.
C.J. Stroud’s Contract Breakdown
Stroud signed a rookie contract with the Texans worth $36,279,243 over four years, which translates to an annual salary of just over $9 million. The deal was fully guaranteed and also included a $23,384,904 signing bonus.
This season, Stroud is earning a base salary of $1,030,000 and a roster bonus of just over $3 million. His cap hit is $9.9 million this year, and it will increase to $11.54 million in 2026.
MORE: Who Are the NFL’s Highest-Paid Quarterbacks in 2024?
The Texans will have a fifth-year option on Stroud’s deal that they can exercise later to extend his contract by one year. The value of that option, which will be fully guaranteed, will not be known until it can be exercised.
To put Stroud’s rookie contract into perspective, Sam Bradford signed the largest rookie contract ever in 2010 when he inked a six-year deal worth $78 million, with $50 million guaranteed.
However, since the NFL changed to rookie-scale contracts, these deals must be four years with a fifth-year option, and there is a required salary floor and ceiling. Also, these rookie contracts cannot be restructured.
“A rookie contract for a drafted rookie may not be renegotiated, amended or altered in any way until after the final regular season game of the player’s third contract year,” according to Article 7 of the NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Stroud’s Net Worth and Career Earnings
After the end of his third season in the league, Stroud will have earned $30,590,894 from his NFL contracts alone.
This figure doesn’t include his endorsements, which include partnerships with brands like Designer Shoe Warehouse (DSW), Express, Value City Furniture, Kane Footwear, Dr. Teal’s, and eFuse.
Stroud also did well for himself during his final year in college, earning $2.9 million from NIL deals, per On3.
Stroud recently revealed that his first significant purchase with his NFL earnings was buying cars for his mother, sister, and brother.
“I’m more of a giver,” Stroud said. “So that was pretty cool and just to see them with their new rides having a good time with those. So that’s more of the pleasure that I got.”
Stroud’s net worth is estimated to be roughly $12 million. It’s safe to say that the third-year quarterback is thriving — on and off the field.
Houston Texans’ Stats and Insights for Wild Card Round
Team: The Texans started the season with three straight one-score losses by a combined 13 points. Houston went 7-2 the rest of the season in one-score games. All the Texans’ losses were by eight points or fewer.
Playoffs: Houston is 6-8 all-time in the postseason and has won at least one game in six of eight appearances. Six of the eight losses were by at least 13 points.
QB: C.J. Stroud posted a QBi grade of C in both postseason games last season. He posted an 86.2 (B) against the Browns in the 2023 Wild Card game.
OFF: Houston finished the regular season 23rd in the OFFi rankings. They were ranked in the top eight for three weeks; however, there were six weeks when they finished 25th or lower.
DEF: Will Anderson Jr. finished third behind Maxx Crosby and Myles Garrett in PFSN’s EDGE Impact (EDGEi) ranking this season. The three were the only players to reach a grade of A- or better. Anderson was ranked in the top 15 in his first two seasons.
