2026 NFL Draft rookie salary scale: full pay breakdown
The No. 1 pick earns more than $57 million over four years; dropping out of the first round entirely costs a player roughly $40 million in guaranteed money
Fernando Mendoza, selected first overall by the Las Vegas Raiders in the 2026 NFL Draft, is in line for a four-year, $57. 3 million contract with a $38. 1 million signing bonus, according to Sportico.
The first four picks will all sign deals worth more than $50 million. The NFL's rookie wage scale assigns a set salary to each draft slot, so a player's draft position has a big impact on his earnings. The 2026 salary cap is $301.
2 million. Taken together, this year's 32 first-round selections are on pace for a combined haul exceeding $900 million, with signing bonuses alone accounting for $542 million of that total, per Sportico. Every player drafted in the first round lands a four-year deal that includes both a fifth-year club option and full guarantees on salary and signing bonus.
The gap between the first and second rounds matters financially. Yahoo Sports reports that dropping from pick No. 32 to No.