During Thursday’s NFL 2025 draft, 32 college football players were selected to join the league.
There is a lot on the line during the NFL draft, which is a celebration of all the effort athletes have put out to fulfill their aspirations.
Being chosen early has financial benefits in addition to bragging privileges. This is because certain draft slots are assigned set compensation under the NFL’s rookie wage scale. A player’s overall contract and signing bonus are more profitable the higher he is picked.
Therefore, you can miss out on a few million dollars throughout your rookie deal if you drop a few positions lower than anticipated. A player might lose out on more than $10 million if they fall 10 ranks. A player could miss out on tens of millions of dollars in total guarantees if they are eliminated completely in the first round. And such a large decline is not unusual.
Will Levis, a quarterback for Kentucky, was predicted to be selected second overall in 2023, which would have secured him a $36.2 million rookie contract for four years. However, Levis was surprisingly selected in the second round (33rd overall), with a contract worth $9.5 million, which represents a $26.7 million decrease in total compensation.
One standout player this season—former Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, son of NFL great Deion Sanders—turned out to be Levis in 2025.
At one point, Sanders was predicted to go as high as No. 1 overall, with the New York Giants at No. 3 overall appearing to be the lowest he could go. However, Sanders’ chances of being chosen among the first few picks stagnated as the draft approached.
Sanders will have to wait until Friday, Day 2 of the draft, after he was not selected in the first round. Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, Sanders’ teammate, went No. 2 to the Jacksonville Jaguars, while Miami quarterback Cam Ward went No. 1 to the Tennessee Titans.
In addition to a signing bonus, first-round draft picks will have a four-year contract with a fifth-year team option. Other aspects of the contract, such as roster incentives, are not totally guaranteed, but the signing bonus and guaranteed base pay are.
Here are the projected contracts and signing bonuses for the 2025 NFL draft’s first round picks, as reported by contract monitoring website Spotrac, so you can see what’s at risk:
Pick 1: $43,010,000 in total value | $7,820,000 in salary for the first year
Pick 2: Year 1 Salary: $7,474,234 | Total Value: $41,108,290
Pick 3: Year 1 Salary: $7,254,206 | Total Value: $39,898,136
Pick 4: Year 1 Salary: $7,002,737 | Total Value: $38,515,052
Pick 5: Year 1 Salary: $6,562,670 | Total Value: $36,094,688
Pick 6: Year 1 Salary: $5,776,839 | Total Value: $31,772,616
Total Value of Pick 7: $28,314,964 Salary for Year 1: $5,148,175
Total Value of Pick 8: $24,857,308 | Salary for Year 1: $4,519,510
Pick 9: Year 1 Salary: $4,488,041 | Total Value: $24,684,224
Pick 10: $23,733,556 in total value | $4,315,192 in first-year salary
Pick 11: $22,264,062 in total value | $4,048,011 in salary for the first year
Pick 12: $20,189,458 in total value Salary for Year 1: $3,670,810
Pick 13: Year 1 Salary: $3,576,511 | Total Value: $19,670,812
Pick 14: Year 1 Salary: $3,419,346 | Total Value: $18,806,406
Pick 15: $18,460,658 in total value | $3,356,483 in salary for the first year
Pick 16: $17,423,336 in total value Salary for Year 1: $3,167,879
Pick 17: Year 1 Salary: $3,105,012 | Total Value: $17,077,566
Pick 18: Year 1 Salary: $3,026,430 | Total Value: $16,645,368
Pick 19: Year 1 Salary: $2,979,279 | Total Value: $16,386,036
Pick 20: $16,299,602 is the total value. Salary for Year 1: $2,963,564
Pick 21: $16,213,156 in total value Salary for Year 1: $2,947,846
Pick 22: $16,040,266 in total value Salary for Year 1: $2,916,412
Pick 23: $15,867,390 in total value | $2,884,980 in salary for the first year
Pick 24: $15,521,620 in total value Salary for Year 1: $2,822,113
Pick 25: $15,348,744 in total value Salary for Year 1: $2,790,681
Pick 26: Year 1 Salary: $2,759,243 | Total Value: $15,175,838
Pick 27: Year 1 Salary: $2,727,814 | Total Value: $15,002,980
Total Value of Pick 28: $14,916,532 Salary for Year 1: $2,712,097
Pick 29: $14,222,886 in total value | $2,585,979 in salary for the first year
Pick 30: $13,855,552 in total value | $2,519,191 in salary for the first year
Pick 31: $13,547,846 in total value | $2,463,245 in salary for the first year
Pick 32: $13,349,728 in total value Salary for Year 1: $2,427,223
Furthermore, the 2025 NFL draft has additional financial complications.
College football in particular is at a turning moment, and the draft coincides with this. The implementation of name, image, and likeness (NIL) regulations in collegiate athletics has allowed athletes to capitalize on their athletic ability, with the top players in lucrative sports like football earning higher salaries.
Currently, some of the best college football players earn millions of dollars annually. According to database On3, for instance, Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith has a NIL worth of $4 million while University of Miami quarterback Carson Beck has a NIL value of $4.3 million.
In fact, former Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe might be accepting a pay reduction in his first season in the NFL as he waits to be selected in the 2025 NFL draft. According to On3, Milroe’s estimated yearly NIL value during his final year in Tuscaloosa was $2.6 million, which is more than he would have received if he had been chosen outside of the first round. According to the DraftKings betting odds as of Thursday morning, Milroe is not anticipated to be selected in the first round.
Additionally, on Monday, the NCAA approved a series of regulations that will reverse decades of collegiate athletics precedent. Redesigning NIL regulations and establishing a revenue-sharing scheme that enables schools to distribute $20.5 million among all athletes participating in all sports are among the proposals.
In an unprecedented move this April, a college quarterback engaged in a practice that is usually reserved for professional sports leagues: effectively, a NIL contract holdout. Nico Iamaleava, a former quarterback for the University of Tennessee, skipped practice and then transferred because he was unhappy with his zero salary and team circumstances.
Mitch Gilfillan, a sports management lawyer at Quinn Johnston, told Marketwatch, “It’s important to understand that college sports have evolved into a professional-style system, with some operating like a minor league/farm system.” “Anyone who knows how professional sports work and the state of collegiate athletics today shouldn’t be surprised to see a college player ‘hold out’ or decline to play until an agreement is reached.
“In 2025, players have significant power now, which is on full display in the public eye,” said Gilfillan.
Starting at 8 p.m. Eastern, NFL Network, ESPN, and ABC (DIS) will broadcast the first round of the 2025 NFL draft.
