Make no mistake, the reaction shots from the prospects during recent NFL drafts continue to mirror those of the past.
Plenty of hugs from loved ones. Proud smiles. Sometimes, even some joyful tears.
Achieving what has been for most a lifelong dream of joining an NFL team still will affect those who hear their name called from the North Shore stage of this year’s draft in Pittsburgh from April 23-25.
But something has changed in regards to the enormity of the moment of officially becoming a pro — at least for those who were the highest-profile players in college.
Whereas in the past, most of the players selected were about to begin earning money for the first time — and a lot of it, too, typically more per year than any of their parents had even dreamed — nowadays there are more than a few prospects hearing their names called who will end up taking a pay cut.
Such is life in the era of name, image and likeness (NIL) in college athletics. Combined with the $20 million-plus that each school is now legally allowed to compensate athletes each year, it’s not uncommon for several of the top players at the big-time programs to earn seven figures during their final college seasons.
And though that phenomenon might make things somewhere on the spectrum of awkward to untenable for teams on the verge of handing out four-year contracts to the rookies they draft, in some sense that players are entering the NFL already with money is making things easier on the teams.
“The cool thing about college scouting that we always had to answer when we were going to schools, ‘How’s a guy going to be when he has money?’ ” Los Angeles Chargers general manager Joe Horitz said. “Now, we have that answer.
“Some guys get the money and change the way they are. Other guys get the money and you hear stories about taking guys out for dinner, he’s taking his teammates and he works hard, is a leader. You kind of get the answer.”
According to published reports, it is believed that more than 200 Division I college football players were compensated at least $1 million for their play last season. The money poured in through a combination of NIL payments and direct “revenue-sharing” compensation from the schools themselves.
NIL has been legal since a 2021 Supreme Court ruling. Although intended to legalize endorsement deals (think TV commercials or autograph-signing appearances), in practice far more money has flowed from school boosters to players.
As a result of a settlement in the House vs. NCAA case, this past season was the first during an academic year in which schools were permitted to share up to $20.5 million with athletes. As football is by far the highest-grossing revenue producer in college athletics, it is no surprise the lion’s share of the cash went to football players.
Combined with highly liberalized transfer rules over what had been in place for decades, this has created a chaotic environment for college coaches and fans because of the near-constant roster churn.
But as for how it affects the way NFL teams view incoming prospects? It hasn’t changed too much.
“It paints a clearer picture in terms of (the character) makeup (of the individual),” Bears general manager Ryan Poles said at the combine. “I like to follow the whole journey. I don’t hold it against an 18-year-old that gets a million bucks to go to school and maybe didn’t have his priorities straight. I think most of us here, if that happened to us, we might be doing some crazy things, too, or maybe not focus where we should be focused.
“But I want to see the learning lessons that come from that and understand their structure of the people they put around them. I want to understand how they battle through adversity.”
The contracts of those who are drafted this year, of course, vary greatly dependent on with what selection each was picked.
For example, the No. 16 overall pick (representing the midway point of the first round) in 2025, defensive tackle Walter Nolen, signed for $19.4 million over four years with the Arizona Cardinals. The player taken in the middle of the third round (cornerback Justin Walley) got a four-year, $6.5 million deal from the Indianapolis Colts.
But the final pick of the fifth round, for example, defensive end Tyler Baron, got only $320,216 in guarantees from the New York Jets, and last year’s “Mr. Irrelevant” — cornerback Kobee Minor — got a $101,672 bonus from the New England Patriots as the final selection of the draft.
This year’s selectees will get a slight bump on all of those numbers. But certainly expect some to have made more playing as seniors in, say, the SEC than they will as rookies in the AFC or NFC.
“I think you can look at that in two different ways,” Patriots general manager Eliot Wolf said. “On one hand, maybe they’re coming in a little bit more entitled. But on the other hand, they’re coming in more prepared from a business standpoint. They’ve had money, they know what it’s like, they have some financial literacy and understanding the trials and tribulations that come with that.”
“So I think it’s a double-edged sword. It’s like anything, you just have to be able to adjust. And, you know, every person can be different.”
Perhaps no player will take a bigger financial hit than quarterback Carson Beck, who last year took in a reported $4-5 million while leading Miami to the national championship game but as a projected mid-round pick this year might earn only about one-third of that from his NFL team as a rookie.
Don’t expect that to scare off any prospective suitors.
“(Top draft prospects) come in almost like pros now,” Raiders general manager John Spytek said, “so it’s not really a question we got to worry about anymore. We know what they’re about and what they’ll do with money, and it’s good for them.”