Twelve undrafted free agents signed their contracts Friday, May 9 as well.
The Buffalo Bills took a key step toward finalizing their 2025 rookie class on Friday, signing six of their nine draft picks to four-year contracts ahead of rookie minicamp. The team also signed 12 undrafted free agents to the roster.
The NFL’s rookie wage scale, which has been in place since the 2011 Collective Bargaining Agreement, makes it so rookie contracts are held in check more than in years past. Today’s rookie deals are highly structured — while first-round picks typically receive a four-year deal with a fifth-year option, players selected in Rounds 2 through 7 are all signed to standard four-year contracts based on their draft position.
Every draft pick gets a four-year contract with a set salary range based on their draft slot. There are no exceptions and there’s very little room for negotiation.
For the 2025 season, the minimum rookie base salary is $840,000. Each player’s first-year cap number is made up of that base salary plus one-fourth of the total signing bonus. This number is important because it helps set the total value of the rookie contract. Under the rules, the salary in each year of the contract can only increase by up to 25% of the first-year cap number.
NFL rookie contract values are scaled down with each round. Here’s a breakdown of the 2025 rookie contract scale by round — paid out over four-year contracts:
Round 1:
- The number 1 pick can expect a contract worth over $48.5 million.
- Picks 2-7 will get contracts worth at least $46.5 million, down to $30 million.
- Picks 8-15 will earn between $30 million and $20 million
- Picks 16-32 will earn between $20 million and $14.5 million
Round 2:
- Contracts range in value from $11.7 million to $7 million.
Round 3:
- Contracts range in value from $6.7 million to $6 million.
Round 4:
- Contracts range in value from $5.3 million to $4.8 million.
Rounds 5-7:
- Contract values continue to decrease, from $5.3 million to the last 10 picks, all signing around a $4 million deal.
Undrafted Free Agents:
- Contracts are limited to three-years instead of four.
Buffalo Bills’ 2025 rookie draft class putting pen to paper
Here’s a breakdown of the six Bills rookies who signed on Friday and what their projected rookie wage will be:
- Round 3, 72nd Overall: Landon Jackson, DE (Arkansas) — Projected contract: 4 years, $6.6 million, including $1.453 million signing bonus.
- Round 5, 170th Overall: Jordan Hancock, DB (Ohio State) — Projected contract: 4 years, $4.5 million, including $320,000 signing bonus.
- Round 5, 173rd Overall: Jackson Hawes, TE (Georgia Tech) — Projected contract: 4 years, $4.5 million, including $320,000 signing bonus.
- Round 6, 177th Overall: Dorian Strong, CB (Virginia Tech) — Projected contract: 4 years, $4.485 million, including $285,000 signing bonus.
- Round 6, 206th Overall: Chase Lundt, OT (UConn) — Projected contract: 4 years, $4.4 million, including $200,000 signing bonus.
- Round 7, 240th Overall: Kaden Prather, WR (Maryland) — Projected contract: 4 years, $4.3 million, including $110,000 signing bonus.
Most of these rookie contracts are unlikely to immediately affect the Bills’ available salary cap, as only the top 51 contracts count during the offseason. However, Buffalo may need to maneuver some cap space before signing their final three rookies — those being a first-round, second-round, and fourth-round selection.
Over the Cap has Bills first-round selection cornerback Maxwell Hairston projected to a four-year, $15.25 million contract including a $7.7 million signing bonus. Second-round selection, defensive tackle T.J. Sanders, is projected to a four-year, $10.6 million contract — including a $4.35 million signing bonus. BUffalo’s fourth-round selection, defensive tackle Deone Walker, is projected to a four-year contract worth $5.2 million — with a signing bonus of $1.04 million.