[AtlantaBadger]

I don't claim to be the expert on this, but have looked into the issue a bit.

The only thing Shayne is getting for sure is the $10K -- $420,000 is the rookie minimum IF HE MAKES THE TEAM.  This will be a bit of an over-simplification, but basically anyone drafted in the 4th round or later will technically make the rookie minimum in his first year, and the base salary escalates each of the 4 years of the contract (to $675,000 in year 4).  The big difference between someone picked, say, with the first pick in the 4th round and the first pick in the 5th round and the 6th round is the amount of signing bonus and the overall amount of guaranteed money in the contract.  The guaranteed amounts are quite high for first rounders, obviously, though pick 2 makes less than pick 1, and pick 7 makes less than pick 6, etc.    Once you get past the second round, the guaranteed numbers and signing bonuses start to drop precipitously.

Further, each team has a set limit on the total amount it can spend on UDFA contracts -- this year it is roughly $80,000.  That is the same for every team.  I think $10,000 is a pretty good number for Shayne in that light; many UDFAs get less than that. 

A free agent has to make the squad really to get anything more (practice squad players do make a couple thousand a week during the season).

Eric

[AtlantaBadger]

I don't claim to be the expert on this, but have looked into the issue a bit.

The only thing Shayne is getting for sure is the $10K -- $420,000 is the rookie minimum IF HE MAKES THE TEAM.  This will be a bit of an over-simplification, but basically anyone drafted in the 4th round or later will technically make the rookie minimum in his first year, and the base salary escalates each of the 4 years of the contract (to $675,000 in year 4).  The big difference between someone picked, say, with the first pick in the 4th round and the first pick in the 5th round and the 6th round is the amount of signing bonus and the overall amount of guaranteed money in the contract.  The guaranteed amounts are quite high for first rounders, obviously, though pick 2 makes less than pick 1, and pick 7 makes less than pick 6, etc.    Once you get past the second round, the guaranteed numbers and signing bonuses start to drop precipitously.

Further, each team has a set limit on the total amount it can spend on UDFA contracts -- this year it is roughly $80,000.  That is the same for every team.  I think $10,000 is a pretty good number for Shayne in that light; many UDFAs get less than that. 

A free agent has to make the squad really to get anything more (practice squad players do make a couple thousand a week during the season).

Eric