How Much Money Will Every First-Round Pick Make As a Rookie?

There are a wide range of salaries for first-round picks.

As the No. 1 pick, Fernando Mendoza is the highest-paid player among the 2026 rookie class. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

First-Round Grades | Day 2 Mock Draft | Best Available Players |Fernando Mendoza is Tom Brady’s successor | Ty Simpson will test Sean McVay | Cardinals made the right pick

Get NFL prospect scouting reports and team breakdowns in SI’s draft tracker.

There are countless reasons players prefer to be first-round picks. The prestige. The recognition as one of the best players of their class. Less time waiting to hear their name called. More chances to succeed.

It also doesn’t hurt that they earn significantly higher paydays than players taken in the later rounds.

First-round picks are signed to four-year contracts, which include a fifth-year option. The contracts for first-round picks are also fully guaranteed—which is typically not the case for players drafted in the later rounds.

Here’s a look at how much every player selected in the first round of the draft this year will make.

How much every 2026 first-round pick makes on their rookie contract

Pick Number	Total contract value	Player selected
No. 1	$57,271,500	QB Fernando Mendoza
No. 2	$54,675,584	Edge David Bailey
No. 3	$53,023,666	RB Jeremiyah Love
No. 4	$51,135,704	WR Carnell Tate
No. 5	$47,831,802	LB Arvell Reese
No. 6	$41,931,992	CB Mansoor Delane
No. 7	$37,212,138	LB Sonny Styles
No. 8	$32,492,288	WR Jordyn Tyson
No. 9	$32,256,026	OL Spencer Fano
No. 10	$30,958,330	OL Francis Mauigoa
No. 11	$28,952,410	OL Kadyn Proctor
No. 12	$26,120,482	S Caleb Downs
No. 13	$25,412,508	QB Ty Simpson
No. 14	$24,232,552	OG Vega Ioane
No. 15	$23,760,590	Edge Rueben Bain Jr.
No. 16	$22,344,604	TE Kenyon Sadiq
No. 17	$21,872,616	OL Blake Miller
No. 18	$21,282,642	DT Caleb Banks
No. 19	$20,928,640	OL Monroe Freeling
No. 20	$20,810,658	WR Makai Lemon
No. 21	$20,692,654	OL Max Iheanachor
No. 22	$20,456,656	Edge Akheem Mesidor
No. 23	$20,220,666	Edge Malachi Lawrence
No. 24	$19,748,678	WR K.C. Concepcion
No. 25	$19,512,698	S Dillon Thieneman
No. 26	$19,276,668	OG Keylan Rutledge
No. 27	$19,040,710	CB Chris Johnson
No. 28	$18,922,710	OL Caleb Lomu
No. 29	$17,975,848	DT Peter Woods
No. 30	$17,474,424	WR Omar Cooper Jr.
No. 31	$17,054,400	Edge Keldrick Faulk
No. 32	$16,783,950	RB Jadarian Price

Related: How Rookie Contracts Work in the NFL, Including Salary and Length

There is a wide range of total contract value for first-round picks, between $16.78 million for No. 32 pick Jadarian Price to $57.21 million for No. 1 choice Fernando Mendoza.

Only the top four picks in this draft make $50 million or more over their first four NFL seasons—Mendoza, David Bailey, Jeremiyah Love and Carnell Tate. The drop-off is steep over the first 10 picks. The No. 10 pick in the draft makes over $20 million less than each of the first four picks. From there on, there is no more than a $3 million difference between each pick.

Mendoza is the highest-paid rookie with over a $57.21 million deal, while the second quarterback taken off the board, Ty Simpson, is making less than half of that at $25.41 million.

The contract for Love made the Cardinals’ decision to take a running back at No. 3 particularly interesting. Love will now make $53,023,666 over four years ($13.26 million per year), which gives him the most guaranteed money at the position. He is making over $15 million more in guaranteed money over the life of his deal than Saquon Barkley, whose current contract comes with $36 million in guarantees. Barkley, James Cook and fellow rookie Ashton Jeanty are the only running backs making $30 million or more in guaranteed money. Love is the seventh-highest paid running back on a per-year basis, only trailing Barkley, Cook, Christian McCaffrey, Derrick Henry, Kenneth Walker III, Breece Hall and Jonathan Taylor.

How much did first-round picks make last year?

The payday for first-round picks has risen significantly over the past 365 days. Last year, No. 1 pick Cam Ward signed a deal worth $48.8 million over four years. Mendoza is making nearly $10 million more a year later.

In 2025, the contract values for first-round picks ranged from $14.7 million to $48.8 million. The top five picks earned more than $40 million on their rookie deals, and the top 15 picks each made at least $20 million on their contracts.

How much do other drafted rookies make?

There is much less separation in rookie contracts between Rounds 2-7. Picks 33 to 49 in the second round make between $10 million to $13.4 million. All players drafted in the top 100 receive a contract of at least $6.6 million. All players selected after the No. 100 pick receive a contract worth a total of $4.3 million to $5.6 million.

---