The NFL 2025 draft begins at 8 pm et on Thursday, April 24, but we already know the first player who will leave the board. Unexpected things happen, but the Titan Titans are expected to choose the Miami (FL) Cam Ward with the No. 1 selection.
Thanks to the NFL collective bargaining agreement, we can discover the general structure of Ward’s rookie contract. He won to sign it immediately, but given that rookie contracts are effective negotiated through the CBA, we should expect it to firm before the training camp. Non -rooms can sign before, but quartbacks will often take a little longer in July before the training camp.
When Ward signs his contract, he is likely to be worth the north or $ 40 million. Spotrac is projecting that the contract has a total value of $ 43,010,000. They project limit numbers or $ 7,820,000, $ 9,775,000, $ 11,730,000 and $ 13,685,000. On the other hand, on the limit it is projecting a total value of $ 48,839,586. They project a signing bonus portion of $ 32,159,700, with annual salaries or $ 840,000, $ 3,059,981, $ 5,279,962 and $ 7,499,943.
Spotrac’s total number seems more in line with what Ward will finish obtaining. The number 1 selection of last year, Caleb Williams, signed an agreement worth $ 39,486,058. He resorted to a signature bonus destination $ 25,537,132 for the first year, and $ 9,929,106 in bonus money of the list in the second, third and fourth season. This is similar to what Bryce Young signed in his rookie agreement the previous year, although a little higher due to annual inflation.
The greatest negotiation point is usually compensated language. This language covers when a player is released before the end of his contract and signs with another team. If there is compensated language, the contract of the future team will compensate any guaranteed money that the first team still owes the player. Compensated language is something that teams always because in offers and players never because. If Ward is delayed signing your rookie contract, it is probably due to the compensation language.