The 2026 NFL Draft is officially underway in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with another group of young talent hoping to live out their football dreams as they hear their names called during the first round.
While the spotlight is on where players will land, there’s just as much intrigue around how much each of those picks is set to earn on their lucrative rookie contracts.
So, how much money does each draft pick in the first round actually make? Here’s a breakdown of the NFL’s rookie salary scale.
How NFL Draft Picks Get Paid Under the Rookie Scale
Under the NFL’s rookie contract scale, every draft pick has a specific financial value, and not all deals are created equal. This means most of a rookie’s contract, including total value, signing bonus, and annual salary, is predetermined based on where they are selected.
The higher a player is selected, the larger their contract, with salaries gradually decreasing as you go further down the order. Still, an NFL rookie in 2026 will earn slightly more than a rookie from 2025.
According to Spotrac, the minimum base salary for an NFL rookie in 2026 is $885,000, up from $840,000 in 2025.
Projected Rookie Salaries for 2026 NFL Draft First-Round Picks
First-round picks receive four-year contracts with a fifth-year team option. These deals are fully guaranteed, making them the most secure in the draft.
Here’s how much each first-round pick is projected to earn over their four-year rookie deal, according to Spotrac:
- No. 1: $54,565,500
- No. 2: $52,103,630
- No. 3: $50,537,014
- No. 4: $48,746,540
- No. 5: $45,613,238
- No. 6: $40,018,084
- No. 7: $35,541,950
- No. 8: $31,065,822
- No. 9: $30,841,760
- No. 10: $29,611,072
- No. 11: $27,708,728
- No. 12: $25,023,034
- No. 13: $24,351,620
- No. 14: $23,232,590
- No. 15: $22,785,000
- No. 16: $21,442,128
- No. 17: $20,994,516
- No. 18: $20,435,008
- No. 19: $20,099,288
- No. 20: $19,987,396
- No. 21: $19,875,486
- No. 22: $19,651,672
- No. 23: $19,427,870
- No. 24: $18,980,258
- No. 25: $18,756,456
- No. 26: $18,532,620
- No. 27: $18,308,844
- No. 28: $18,196,940
- No. 29: $17,298,970
- No. 30: $16,823,440
- No. 31: $16,425,104
- No. 32: $16,168,614
Here, the No. 1 overall pick is projected to earn over $54 million. In comparison, the final or No. 32 pick of the first round will earn just over $16 million. If we go further down, the first pick of the second round is projected to earn $12,937,488 in total, several million less than pick No. 32.
Before the rookie contract scale was introduced in 2011, top draft picks often signed massive, team-negotiated deals. For example, Sam Bradford agreed to a six-year, $78 million contract in 2010.
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That system changed with the 2011 CBA, which introduced fixed four-year rookie contracts tied to draft position. The immediate result was a big drop in rookie salaries: Cam Newton’s 2011 deal was worth around $22 million, nearly 70% lower than Bradford’s the previous year.
Since then, rookie contracts have steadily risen again. What remains constant, however, is that draft position still determines everything, not just where a player starts their career, but how much they earn from Day 1.
