Paying for No. 1
Rookie contracts signed by No. 1 overall draft picks in the NFL over the past 10 seasons.
| Year | Player | Pos. | College | NFL Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Matthew Stafford | QB | Georgia | Detroit |
| 6 years, $72 million, $41.7 million guaranteed. | ||||
| 2008 | Jake Long | OT | Michigan | Miami |
| 5 years, $57.5 million, $30 million guaranteed. | ||||
| 2007 | JaMarcus Russell | QB | LSU | Oakland |
| 6 years, $61 million, $32 million guaranteed. | ||||
| 2006 | Mario Williams | DE | NC State | Houston |
| 6 years, $54 million, $26.5 million guaranteed. | ||||
| 2005 | Alex Smith | QB | Utah | San Francisco |
| 6 years, $49.5 million, $24 million guaranteed. | ||||
| 2004 | Eli Manning | QB | Mississippi | New York Giants |
| 6 years, $45 million, $20 million signing bonus. | ||||
| 2003 | Carson Palmer | QB | USC | Cincinnati |
| 7 years, $49 million, $14 million signing and option bonuses. | ||||
| 2002 | David Carr | QB | Fresno St. | Houston |
| 7 years, $46.2 million, $10.9 million signing bonus. | ||||
| 2001 | Michael Vick | QB | Va. Tech | Atlanta |
| 6 years, $62 million, $15.3 million guaranteed. | ||||
| 2000 | Courtney Brown | DE | Penn State | Cleveland |
| 6 years, $45 million, $10.8 million signing bonus. |
Source: published reports.
