In 2011, the NFL introduced the rookie wage scale, which restricts the value of contracts given to new players in the league, leaving the big money to the established stars.
For the 2025 season, the highest possible contract for the first pick was $48.75million, and it decreased incrementally for the picks that followed.
However, prior to the wage scale being introduced, rookies could earn massive sums of money.
Here, we have looked into the top five highest rookie contracts of all time.
1. Sam Bradford
Bradford’s record rookie deal came in 2010, meaning it was the last of its kind in the NFL. He was given a six-year, $78million contract by the St Louis Rams, earning a guaranteed $50million.
Bradford’s contract is said to have served as something of a cautionary tale, as while he was the offensive rookie of the year in his first season, injuries a few years into his career caused complications that hampered him.
2. Matthew Stafford
Shock, it’s the Detroit Lions again. Between their lucrative signings of Johnson and Suh, the Lions’ desire to build a winning team was clear as they splashed big money on a quarterback.
A year after Ryan’s contract had broken the rookie record, Stafford’s deal broke it again, as he was paid $72million over six years.
Stafford never delivered glory in Detroit despite having some good seasons, but he did win a Super Bowl in 2021, after he moved to the LA Rams, swapping places with Jared Goff.
3. Matt Ryan
At the time of being drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in 2008, Ryan was the most expensive rookie ever.
He was handed a six-year, $70million contract, and was not even the top pick, nor the second.
Ryan was drafted third overall yet given more money than first pick Jake Long’s $57.75million and Chris Long’s $55million, though those were both five-year deals, and Ryan’s was over six years.
4. Ndamukong Suh
Detroit loved to splash the cash on their rookies in the 2000s, as Suh was signed there in 2010 to the largest rookie contract ever given to a defensive player, and the largest to a non-quarterback.
The rookie tackle was handed $68million over five years.
He immediately vindicated the Lions’ decision to pay him big money, with Suh winning defensive rookie of the year and making the Pro Bowl in his first season.
5. Calvin Johnson
Johnson was signed to a six-year, $64million rookie contract by the Detroit Lions in 2007, a record for his position that is no longer able to be broken.
He lived up to the contract, becoming one of the very best receivers the NFL has ever seen, with over 10,000 receiving yards to his name.
