The 2020 remote NFL Draft has now passed and it’s time for the accountants and lawyers to put ink to paper and collect some young men’s signatures.
Contracts worth nearly $1.5 billion will be signed by the 255 drafted players from 99 colleges during the next few months. The current salary structure, which was put in place during the NFL’s 2011 collective bargaining agreement, greatly curbed the contracts of first-round draft picks. The CBA increased the 2020 minimum base salaries for all players to $610,000, including undrafted free agents.
The signing bonus represents a significant amount of a rookie player’s total compensation. Players will almost certainly retain 100% of their signing bonuses even if the season is shortened because of coronavirus concerns. Only the base salaries would be impacted, based on the number of games canceled. Rookie deals are typically four-year contracts that include a fifth-year team option.
Following are the expected contracts for the Georgia players drafted this year. I’m sure each will be receiving calls and post cards from the UGA Alumni Office in the very near future.
| Player | Team | Round | Pick | Contract | Signing Bonus |
| OT Andrew Thomas | Giants | 1st | 4th | $32.3m | $21.1m |
| OT Isaiah Wilson | Titans | 1st | 29th | $11.6m | $6m |
| RB D’Andre Swift | Lions | 2nd | 35th | $8.5m | $3.8m |
| OG Solomon Kindley | Dolphins | 4th | 111th | $3.4m | $0.80m |
| QB Jake Fromm | Bills | 5th | 167th | $2.9m | $0.30m |
| TE Charlie Woerner | 49ers | 6th | 190th | $2.8m | $0.18m |
| LB Tae Crowder | Giants | 7th | 255th | $2.7m | $0.08m |
LSU dominated the 2020 ‘Alumni Endowment Award,’ much like it did the 2019 college football season. The Tigers tied a seven-round NFL draft record with 14 draft picks worth a cumulative $124 million. Following are the top 10 colleges by 2020 NFL Draft contract totals.
| 1. LSU | 14 players | $124,058,000 |
| 2. Alabama | 9 players | $110,947,000 |
| 3. Ohio State | 10 players | $108,938,000 |
| 4. Georgia | 7 players | $64,337,000 |
| 5. Clemson | 7 players | $57,198,000 |
| 6. Auburn | 6 players | $50,654,000 |
| 7. Florida | 7 players | $43,817,000 |
| 8. Michigan | 10 players | $41,073,000 |
| 9. TCU | 5 players | $39,083,000 |
| 10. Oklahoma | 4 players | $37,239,000 |
And paraphrasing the great Waylon Jennings, ‘Mammas, don’t let your babies grow up to be guards. Let’em be tackles and cornerbacks and such.’
For the 2020 draft, guards are the least valued players for all positions, with an average totaling $3.0 million. Besides quarterbacks, their tackle line mates are the most highly valued position, with an average contract worth $8.3 million, followed by cornerbacks, who NFL teams value at $6.8 million per contract in 2020. Following are 255 players drafted by position and contract total:
| Offensive Position | Number Drafted | Contract Average |
| Quarterback | 13 | $10.3m |
| Tackle | 18 | $8.3m |
| Wide Receiver | 37 | $5.7m |
| Running Back | 16 | $4.9m |
| Center | 8 | $.5m |
| Tight End | 12 | $3.8m |
| Guard | 21 | $3.0m |
| Defensive Position | Number Drafted | Contract Average |
| Inside Linebacker | 3 | $7.2m |
| Cornerback | 26 | $6.8m |
| Defensive End | 15 | $6.0m |
| Defensive Tackle | 21 | $5.4m |
| Linebacker | 23 | $4.7m |
| Weakside Linebacker | 13 | $4.4m |
| Safety | 23 | $4.1m |
| Specialist Position | Number Drafted | Contract Average |
| Punter | 2 | $2.8m |
| Long Snapper | 1 | $2.8m |
| Place Kicker | 1 | $2.5m |
The 2021 “Tank for Trevor Lawrence Sweepstakes” takes place in Cleveland. The 2022 NFL Draft will be in Las Vegas. In the interim there will be a whole lot of college football to enjoy.
