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Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sport
Karl Rasmussen

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

NFL Cam Ward NFL Draft Albert Breer

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

Rookie contracts in the NFL can be quite complicated. The finances behind adding more than 250 players to the league and keeping teams compliant with the salary cap are complex, and new rules implemented in recent years have been designed to smooth that process.

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