NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement

Article 7
Rookie Compensation and Rookie Compensation Pool

Section 5
Additional Terms

(a)

If, pursuant to Article 6, Section 2 and/or Article 10, Section 12, a Club has one or more Compensatory Draft Selections, an amount shall be added to the Club’s Year-One Rookie Allocation, the Club’s Total Rookie Allocation, the Total Rookie Compensation Pool, and the Year-One Rookie Compensation Pool, based upon a Year-One Formula Allotment to be agreed upon by the NFL and the NFLPA. In the event that a Club signs a Player Contract with a Drafted Rookie who was drafted in a prior League Year, an additional amount shall be added to that Club’s Year-One Rookie Allocation, and to the Year-One Rookie Compensation Pool, equal to the lower of (i) the Player’s YearOne Formula Allotment multiplied by the Year-One Rookie Compensation Pool in the League Year in which the player was drafted or (ii) the amount of unused Room under the Club’s Year-One Rookie Allocation for the League Year in which the player was drafted. A corresponding amount shall also be added to that Club’s Total Rookie Allocation and to the Total Rookie Compensation Pool, based upon the amount described above. Notwithstanding the above, the Drafted Rookie’s Year-One Minimum Allotment multiplied by the Year-One Rookie Compensation Pool will continue to count against the Club’s Year-One Rookie Allocation in the year the player was drafted.

(b)

In the event that the NFL holds a Supplemental Draft in addition to its annual Draft, adjustments shall be made to the Total Rookie Compensation Pool, YearOne Rookie Compensation Pool, the Club’s Total Rookie Allocation and the Club’s YearOne Rookie Allocation as follows:

(b)(i)

The Rookie Allotment for a Supplemental Draft Selection shall be the same amount as the Rookie Allotment for that round and selection in that League Year’s regular Draft. If any Club makes a selection in the Supplemental Draft, then that Club’s Year-One Rookie Allocation shall be deemed increased by an amount equal to the Rookie Allotment for such selection, and the Year-One Rookie Compensation Pool and Total Rookie Compensation Pool for that League Year shall be deemed to have a corresponding increase.

(b)(ii)

For any such Supplemental Draft selection: (A) if the Rookie Allotment corresponding to where the Club would have been selecting in that round in the next League Year’s Draft is less than the Rookie Allotment afforded the Club for that Supplemental Draft selection, then the difference shall be added to the Rookie Pool Bank calculated pursuant to Subsection 2(a)(iv) of this Article (so that, in a future League Year, the Year-One Rookie Compensation Pool can be decreased by that difference (thereby also reducing the Total Rookie Compensation Pool)); or (B) if the Rookie Allotment corresponding to where the Club would have been selecting in that round in the next League Year’s Draft is greater than the Rookie Allotment afforded the Club for the Supplemental Draft selection, then the difference shall be subtracted from the Rookie Pool Bank calculated pursuant to Subsection 2(a)(iv) of this Article (so that, in a future League Year, the Year-One Rookie Compensation Pool can be increased by that difference (thereby also increasing the Total Rookie Compensation Pool)); further provided that if there is otherwise no Rookie Pool Bank pursuant to Subsection 2(a)(iv) of this Article, then: (C) in any League Year prior to the Final League Year, the amount of the difference shall be placed in a “Supplemental Draft bank” as either a positive amount (in the case of a difference under (A) above) or a negative amount (in the case of a difference under (B) above) to be carried forward, with Interest, and applied to the Year-One Rookie Compensation Pool in the Final League Year unless the Parties agree otherwise; (D) in the Final League Year, the amount of any such difference shall be applied immediately to the Year-One Rookie Compensation Pool unless the Parties agree otherwise; and (E) provided further that the Year-One Rookie Compensation Pool in any League Year may not fall below the Minimum Year-One Pool Increase.

(b)(iii)

By way of hypothetical examples, if Club A selected a player in the Supplemental Draft in the 2019 League Year using the second selection in the second round, which had a Rookie Allotment of $1,450,000, but the Club’s actual position in the 2020 Draft would have been the seventh selection in that round, which would have had a Rookie Allotment of $1,400,000, then the Rookie Pool Bank would be increased by $50,000. If Club B selected a player in the Supplemental Draft in the 2019 League Year using the twentieth selection in the third round, which had a Rookie Allotment of $750,000, but the Club’s actual position in the 2020 Draft would have been the first selection in the third round, which would have had a Rookie Allotment of $700,000, then the Rookie Pool Bank would be decreased by $50,000. If either scenario occurred in the Final League Year, or in a year in which there was no Rookie Pool Bank, then the adjustment would instead be made as provided in Subsection (ii) above. For purposes of Subsections (i)-(iii) above, “Rookie Allotment” means the Year-One Formula Allotment for that selection multiplied by the Year-One Rookie Compensation Pool (excluding Compensatory Selections and one-third of the Undrafted Rookie Reservation).

(c)

In the event that a player who was eligible for the NFL Draft in a prior League Year but who has never signed a Player Contract with a Club in a prior League Year (e.g., a player who signed a contract with another professional league before signing a Player Contract with a Club) receives offseason workout compensation pursuant to Article 21, Section 3 prior to the commencement of a Club’s Rookie Football Development Program, the cumulative amount of such daily compensation shall not count against the Club’s Year-One Rookie Compensation Pool or the Club’s Total Rookie Compensation Pool.

(d)

In any League Year in which one or more expansion Teams enter the League, the amount of the Total Rookie Compensation Pool and the Year-One Rookie Compensation Pool shall be increased proportionally (e.g., by 1/32 for every Expansion Team added to a 32 Team League) to account for the additional Draft selections of any such expansion Teams.

(e)

If a Club has a Rookie Football Development Program apart from its al-lowable minicamp(s) prior to its training camp, the following categories of per player reimbursements or payments will not be counted against the Year-One Rookie Compensation Pool or the Total Rookie Compensation Pool: (1) one round trip airline ticket or its cash equivalent from the player’s place of residence to the Club city and back, not to exceed $2,500; (2) room and board or its equivalent of up to $250 per day for the 2020-2025 League Years, and $300 per day for the 2026-2030 League Years, up to a maximum of sixty days; (3) ground transportation to and from the player’s place of residence in the Club’s city to the Club’s facility; and (4) daily amounts the player receives for any workouts or classroom instruction in which the player participates pursuant to the Club’s Rookie Football Development Program or any voluntary or mandatory veteran minicamp, as provided in Article 22, Section 8(b) and Section 4 (c), respectively.

(f)

Until a Drafted Rookie signs a Rookie Contract, the Year-One Minimum Allotment for that player multiplied by the Year-One Rookie Compensation Pool shall count against the Club’s Year-One Rookie Allocation. If a Drafted Rookie accepts the Required Tender described in Article 6, Section 3, then the player must be paid in his first season at the rate of the Minimum Allotment multiplied by the Year-One Rookie Compensation Pool.