MW Here's how much money the 2025 NFL draft picks will make tonight - and who's at risk of losing millions

By Weston Blasi

Some draft picks - like quarterback Jalen Milroe - might be making less money in the NFL than they did in college

A select group of 32 college football players will join the NFL on Thursday during the league's 2025 draft.

The NFL draft is a celebration of all the hard work that players have put in to achieve their dreams - and there's a lot at stake.

Being selected early is about more than just bragging rights - it's about money, too. That's due to the NFL's rookie wage scale, which assigns fixed salaries to specific draft slots. The higher a player is drafted, the more lucrative his overall contract and signing bonus are.

So if you drop a few slots lower than expected, then you could lose out on a few million dollars over your rookie contract. Drop 10 spots, and a player could lose out on over $10 million. Fall out of the first round entirely, and a player could lose out on tens of millions of dollars in total guarantees. And a big drop like that is not uncommon.

In 2023, Kentucky quarterback Will Levis was projected to be the second overall pick, which would have guaranteed him a four-year rookie contract worth $36.2 million. But Levis unexpectedly wasn't picked until the second round (33rd overall), where his contract was valued at $9.5 million - a $26.7 million drop in total wages.

And this year, there's one player who many fans think could be the 2025 version of Levis: former Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, son of NFL legend Deion Sanders.

Sanders was once projected to go as high as No. 1 overall in the NFL draft, with No. 3 overall to the New York Giants seemingly as low as he could go. But as the draft has grown closer, the momentum for Sanders to be selected among the first few picks has stalled out, according to oddsmakers.

The over/under odds for Sanders' draft position moved dramatically on Wednesday from 8.5 to 21.5 at multiple sportsbooks, including DraftKings $(DKNG)$ and FanDuel. This movement could be a precursor to Sanders falling lower in the draft on Thursday.

Sanders' long-rumored destination was No. 3 to the Giants, which would have paid him a total guaranteed contract of $39.9 million. If he were to fall to his new projected range according to sportsbooks - at No. 21 to the Pittsburgh Steelers - Sanders would earn $16.2 million, or a $23.7 million gap.

First-round draft picks will receive a four-year contract with a team option for a fifth year, as well as a signing bonus. The guaranteed base salary and signing bonus are fully guaranteed, while other elements of the contract, like roster bonuses, are not.

To understand what's at stake, here are the estimated contracts and signing bonuses for the first round selections of the 2025 NFL draft, according to contract monitoring site Spotrac:

Pick 1 - Total Value: $43,010,000 | Year 1 Salary: $7,820,000

Pick 2 - Total Value: $41,108,290 | Year 1 Salary: $7,474,234

Pick 3 - Total Value: $39,898,136 | Year 1 Salary: $7,254,206

Pick 4 - Total Value: $38,515,052 | Year 1 Salary: $7,002,737

Pick 5 - Total Value: $36,094,688 | Year 1 Salary: $6,562,670

Pick 6 - Total Value: $31,772,616 | Year 1 Salary: $5,776,839

Pick 7 - Total Value: $28,314,964 | Year 1 Salary: $5,148,175

Pick 8 - Total Value: $24,857,308 | Year 1 Salary: $4,519,510

Pick 9 - Total Value: $24,684,224 | Year 1 Salary: $4,488,041

Pick 10 - Total Value: $23,733,556 | Year 1 Salary: $4,315,192

Pick 11 - Total Value: $22,264,062 | Year 1 Salary: $4,048,011

Pick 12 - Total Value: $20,189,458 | Year 1 Salary: $3,670,810

Pick 13 - Total Value: $19,670,812 | Year 1 Salary: $3,576,511

Pick 14 - Total Value: $18,806,406 | Year 1 Salary: $3,419,346

Pick 15 - Total Value: $18,460,658 | Year 1 Salary: $3,356,483

Pick 16 - Total Value: $17,423,336 | Year 1 Salary: $3,167,879

Pick 17 - Total Value: $17,077,566 | Year 1 Salary: $3,105,012

Pick 18 - Total Value: $16,645,368 | Year 1 Salary: $3,026,430

Pick 19 - Total Value: $16,386,036 | Year 1 Salary: $2,979,279

Pick 20 - Total Value: $16,299,602 | Year 1 Salary: $2,963,564

Pick 21 - Total Value: $16,213,156 | Year 1 Salary: $2,947,846

Pick 22 - Total Value: $16,040,266 | Year 1 Salary: $2,916,412

Pick 23 - Total Value: $15,867,390 | Year 1 Salary: $2,884,980

Pick 24 - Total Value: $15,521,620 | Year 1 Salary: $2,822,113

Pick 25 - Total Value: $15,348,744 | Year 1 Salary: $2,790,681

Pick 26 - Total Value: $15,175,838 | Year 1 Salary: $2,759,243

Pick 27 - Total Value: $15,002,980 | Year 1 Salary: $2,727,814

Pick 28 - Total Value: $14,916,532 | Year 1 Salary: $2,712,097

Pick 29 - Total Value: $14,222,886 | Year 1 Salary: $2,585,979

Pick 30 - Total Value: $13,855,552 | Year 1 Salary: $2,519,191

Pick 31 - Total Value: $13,547,846 | Year 1 Salary: $2,463,245

Pick 32 - Total Value: $13,349,728 | Year 1 Salary: $2,427,223

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And that's not the only financial wrinkle to the 2025 NFL draft.

The draft comes at an inflection point for college sports, and particularly college football. Due to the introduction of name, image and likeness (NIL) rules in college sports, athletes can now leverage their athletic prowess, with the top players in revenue-generating sports like football getting more money.

Some top college football players are currently getting paid millions of dollars per year. University of Miami quarterback Carson Beck has an NIL value of $4.3 million, for example, and Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith has an NIL value of $4 million, according to database On3.

In fact, Jalen Milroe, a former Alabama quarterback who will be waiting to hear his name called in the 2025 NFL draft, may actually be taking a pay cut during his first year in the NFL. Milroe had an estimated yearly NIL value of $2.6 million during his senior year in Tuscaloosa, according to On3, which is a higher wage than he would earn if he's selected outside of the first round. As of Thursday morning, Milroe is not expected to be a first-round selection, according to the DraftKings betting odds.

What's more, the NCAA passed a set of rules on Monday that will upend decades of precedent in college sports. Proposals include revamping NIL rules, and setting up a revenue-sharing system that allows schools to divvy up $20.5 million for all athletes in all sports at a school.

In a first-of-its-kind move this April, a college quarterback engaged in what was essentially an NIL contract holdout, something typically only done in professional sports leagues. Former University of Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava skipped practice and later transferred over dissatisfaction with his NIL wages and team situation.

"It's important to understand college sports have morphed into a professional-style system, some operating like a minor league/farm system," Mitch Gilfillan, sports management attorney at Quinn Johnston, told Marketwatch. "To see a college athlete 'hold out' or refuse to play until an agreement is reached should come as no surprise to anyone who understands how professional sports operate and the current landscape of college sports.

"In 2025, players have significant power now, which is on full display in the public eye," Gilfillan added.

The first round of the 2025 NFL draft will be broadcast on NFL Network, ESPN and ABC $(DIS)$ beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern.

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-Weston Blasi

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April 24, 2025 16:14 ET (20:14 GMT)

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