Are No.1 picks in the NFL Draft earning less? Here’s what the data shows

How much have NFL No. 1 picks earned since 1983?

Read the full article on KETV 7

The 2026 NFL Draft kicks off Thursday in Pittsburgh, with hundreds of college football players hoping to hear their names called.It could mean a four-year deal worth $54.6 million with the Las Vegas Raiders for the first overall pick. That’s an average annual salary of $13.6 million, up $1.4 million from last year. Fernando Mendoza is currently projected to be the No.1 overall pick in this year’s draft.As the picks progress, salaries begin to drop. The final pick in the first round will receive a $16.1 million contract. Many draftees know their expected salaries because of the rookie wage scale the league began 15 years ago.Prior to 2011, NFL teams decided how much to pay their first overall pick. When the Atlanta Falcons drafted Michael Vick No. 1 overall in 2001, he received the largest contract among top picks since 1983, according to the Get the Facts Data Team’s analysis of Spotrac data. Vick signed an eye-popping six-year deal worth $62 million. That contract translates to $116.1 million in today’s dollars after adjusting for inflation, with an average annual value of $19.3 million. With this contract, Vick also had the highest annual contract in the league.In the following years, teams did not offer contracts as large as Vick’s until 2007, when the Oakland Raiders selected JaMarcus Russell No. 1 overall and signed him to a six-year, $61 million contract. However, three years into the contract, the team released Russell.The 2011 collective bargaining agreement introduced a standard four-year rookie contract with set salary values. Teams could no longer negotiate contract length or value for their top picks.Sam Bradford, the last No. 1 pick to sign a massive deal before the scale was implemented, agreed to a six-year, $78 million contract with the St. Louis Rams in 2010. The following year, Cam Newton signed a four-year, $22 million deal, about a 72% decrease from Bradford’s contract.Bradford’s contract is worth $118.5 million today, while Newton’s is worth $32.2 million.The rookie wage scale also widened the gap between the league’s highest-paid player and the No. 1 pick. Tom Brady’s average annual salary in 2010 was $18 million, $5 million more than Bradford’s.Brady and Peyton Manning both led the league the following year at $18 million. Newton’s average salary was $5.5 million, meaning Brady and Manning earned more than three times Newton’s annual value. By the early 2020s, the gap continued to grow. When the Cincinnati Bengals drafted Joe Burrow No. 1 in 2020, his annual salary was $9 million. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes had the highest annual salary that year at $45 million, earning five times more than Burrow. Select a year in the chart below to see how the NFL’s first pick salary compares to the league’s highest-paid player in original and inflation-adjusted dollars going back to 1983. PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiPiFmdW5jdGlvbigpeyJ1c2Ugc3RyaWN0Ijt3aW5kb3cuYWRkRXZlbnRMaXN0ZW5lcigibWVzc2FnZSIsKGZ1bmN0aW9uKGUpe2lmKHZvaWQgMCE9PWUuZGF0YVsiZGF0YXdyYXBwZXItaGVpZ2h0Il0pe3ZhciB0PWRvY3VtZW50LnF1ZXJ5U2VsZWN0b3JBbGwoImlmcmFtZSIpO2Zvcih2YXIgYSBpbiBlLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdKWZvcih2YXIgcj0wO3I8dC5sZW5ndGg7cisrKXtpZih0W3JdLmNvbnRlbnRXaW5kb3c9PT1lLnNvdXJjZSl0W3JdLnN0eWxlLmhlaWdodD1lLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdW2FdKyJweCJ9fX0pKX0oKTs8L3NjcmlwdD4=

WASHINGTON —

The 2026 NFL Draft kicks off Thursday in Pittsburgh, with hundreds of college football players hoping to hear their names called.

It could mean a four-year deal worth $54.6 million with the Las Vegas Raiders for the first overall pick. That’s an average annual salary of $13.6 million, up $1.4 million from last year. Fernando Mendoza is currently projected to be the No.1 overall pick in this year’s draft.

As the picks progress, salaries begin to drop. The final pick in the first round will receive a $16.1 million contract. Many draftees know their expected salaries because of the rookie wage scale the league began 15 years ago.

Prior to 2011, NFL teams decided how much to pay their first overall pick. When the Atlanta Falcons drafted Michael Vick No. 1 overall in 2001, he received the largest contract among top picks since 1983, according to the Get the Facts Data Team’s analysis of Spotrac data.

Vick signed an eye-popping six-year deal worth $62 million. That contract translates to $116.1 million in today’s dollars after adjusting for inflation, with an average annual value of $19.3 million. With this contract, Vick also had the highest annual contract in the league.

In the following years, teams did not offer contracts as large as Vick’s until 2007, when the Oakland Raiders selected JaMarcus Russell No. 1 overall and signed him to a six-year, $61 million contract. However, three years into the contract, the team released Russell.

The 2011 collective bargaining agreement introduced a standard four-year rookie contract with set salary values. Teams could no longer negotiate contract length or value for their top picks.

Sam Bradford, the last No. 1 pick to sign a massive deal before the scale was implemented, agreed to a six-year, $78 million contract with the St. Louis Rams in 2010. The following year, Cam Newton signed a four-year, $22 million deal, about a 72% decrease from Bradford’s contract.

Bradford’s contract is worth $118.5 million today, while Newton’s is worth $32.2 million.

The rookie wage scale also widened the gap between the league’s highest-paid player and the No. 1 pick. Tom Brady’s average annual salary in 2010 was $18 million, $5 million more than Bradford’s.

Brady and Peyton Manning both led the league the following year at $18 million. Newton’s average salary was $5.5 million, meaning Brady and Manning earned more than three times Newton’s annual value.

By the early 2020s, the gap continued to grow. When the Cincinnati Bengals drafted Joe Burrow No. 1 in 2020, his annual salary was $9 million. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes had the highest annual salary that year at $45 million, earning five times more than Burrow.

Select a year in the chart below to see how the NFL’s first pick salary compares to the league’s highest-paid player in original and inflation-adjusted dollars going back to 1983.