By Lou Scataglia
The Denver Broncos took a QB with their 12th pick, and Bo Nix is a seamless fit in this offense. What type of money will he see on his rookie contract? For 32 college prospects, the first round of the NFL Draft meant their dreams came true. One huge change of making it to the NFL is the generational money that comes with it.
And with the NFL salary cap continuing to explode, these rookies are going to get paid more and more. The NFL contract structure for rookies is not just a random salary. There is a rookie contract table, and as you can imagine, the highest picks get paid the most, and the lowest picks get paid the least. With Bo Nix being the 12th pick, how much money can he figure to make?
Over The Cap has a very informative rookie contract table, and we can use it to figure out how much Bo Nix is going to make. So, according to OTC, the total value of Nix's rookie contract with the Denver Broncos is going to be $18,613,158. He'll get a signing bonus of $10,356,840, which is money he will see immediately.
In 2024, his salary is going to be $795,000. In 2025, it'll jump to $1,641,053. In 2026, it'll jump to $2,487,106, and in 2027, his salary will be $3,333,159. OTC also notes that since he is the 12th pick, his cap number during his rookie year will be $3,384,210. This number is calculated by taking his base salary plus his prorated bonus, which is set to be $2,589,210.
This prorated bonus is just his signing bonus divided up evenly into the four standard years of his rookie contract. It's a very modest contract for the Broncos, and if Nix ends up being a home-run QB in the NFL, the Broncos are in even better shape. If all goes well, the 2024 Denver Broncos can have similar success to the 2023 Houston Texans, where the team broke out with a rookie QB in CJ Stroud.
Since Stroud is still on his rookie deal, Houston was active in free agency this past year, spending money left and right and making a major trade to try and make a Super Bowl push. The biggest advantage in all of sports is having that stud QB on his rookie deal. If Nix shows early promise, the Broncos are going to be getting busy next offseason.