Ohio State made program history Thursday night with three former players getting drafted in the Top 10 of the NFL Draft. Five Buckeyes were taken in the first 20 picks as the first-round proceedings evolved into a three-hour long Buckeye infomercial.
As it turns out, the bank accounts of Ohio State's draftees had the best night of all. (Yes, even better than Zeke's resurrected crop top.)
According to projections from Forbes, the five Buckeye draftees earned a whopping $87,222,875 in contract money and $54,389,808 in signing bonus money.
| PICK | TEAM | PLAYER | SALARY | SIGNING BONUS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | CHARGERS | JOEY BOSA | $25,882,931 | $17,014,947 |
| 4 | COWBOYS | EZEKIEL ELLIOTT | $24,965,720 | $16,347,885 |
| 10 | GIANTS | ELI APPLE | $15,163,008 | $9,218,640 |
| 16 | LIONS | TAYLOR DECKER | $10,978,226 | $6,175,162 |
| 20 | JETS | DARRON LEE | $10,232,990 | $5,633,174 |
How were these numbers procured?
Compensation for 2016 NFL rookies is based on two different factors: the league’s Salary Cap and its Rookie Compensation Pool. The NFL’s salary cap (based on the terms negotiated during the 2011 collective bargaining agreement) is expected to be approximately $155.27 million in 2016 (an increase of 9% over 2015). The second, more significant factor, is the Rookie Compensation Pool which puts limitations on the total amount teams can spend on a rookie’s first year salary and the total 4-year contract.
Ohio State: Where the proof is in the championship trophies and multimillion-dollar NFL contracts.
