It’s much easier to project rookie contracts after the NFL’s latest collective bargaining agreements, which established a new rookie pay scale that ties many contract factors to the slot players are picked in the draft.
Which means we already have a good idea of how much the New Orleans Saints’ 2023 draft class will be counting against the salary cap, as well as their estimated signing bonuses and projected total value. Here’s a breakdown of how much each Saints drafted rookie will cost against the cap this season (all estimations via Spotrac):
Round 1, Pick 29: DT Bryan Bresee, Clemson
- Total value: $12.26 million
- Signing bonus: $5.91 million
- 2023 cap hit: $2.22 million
Round 2, Pick 40: DE Isaiah Foskey, Notre Dame
- Total value: $8.73 million
- Signing bonus: $3.35 million
- 2023 cap hit: $1.58 million
Round 3, Pick 71: RB Kendre Miller, TCU
- Total value: $5.65 million
- Signing bonus: $1.12 million
- 2023 cap hit: $1.02 million
Round 4, Pick 103: OL Nick Saldiveri, Old Dominion
- Total value: $4.68 million
- Signing bonus: $842,283
- 2023 cap hit: $960,571
Round 4, Pick 127: QB Jake Haener, Fresno State
- Total value: $4.54 million
- Signing bonus: $704,814
- 2023 cap hit: $926,203
Round 5, Pick 146: DB Jordan Howden, Minnesota
- Total value: $4.16 million
- Signing bonus: $326,726
- 2023 cap hit: $831,682
Round 6, Pick 195: WR A.T. Perry, Wake Forest
- Total value: $4.01 million
- Signing bonus: $176,364
- 2023 cap hit: $794,091
