The majority of picks in the NFL have not signed their contracts yet due to COVID-19. There will likely be new language and stipulations that are non-standard in NFL contracts that agents and teams have been dealing with. How do you institute a workout bonus if the virus prohibits you from showing up to the team gym? Considering the Bengals like to break out bonus structure with items like workout bonuses this is a real question when trying to solve this in the current state of the NFL.
Since the rookie wage scale was implemented it makes holdouts and preseason drama much less likely. Personally I enjoy it much more because it ensures guys get to camp and players are not rewarded for something they have never accomplished on a professional football field. We all remember Sam Bradford being the last big winner of non-rookie wage scale contracts when he signed a 6 year $78M deal with $50M guaranteed before he ever threw a pass.
According to 24/7 Sports they have estimated that Burrow will get a 4 year $36M with a $23.9M signing bonus. All of this is based on a complicated calculation of the rookie compensation pool that is determined from the total amount of players drafted and the overall salary cap so that is why it is merely an estimate.
If we were to take a look at Myles Garrett (2018 #1 overall pick) and Kyler Murray (2019 #1 overall pick) it would yield a higher wage for Burrow as a % increase year over year.
| Total | Signing Bonus | Average Salary | GTD at Signing | Total GTD | |
| Myles Garrett | $ 30,412,255.00 | $ 20,258,004.00 | $ 7,603,064.00 | $ 30,412,255.00 | $ 30,412,255.00 |
| Kyler Murray | $ 35,158,645.00 | $ 23,500,000.00 | $ 8,789,661.00 | $ 35,035,000.00 | $ 35,035,000.00 |
| Joe Burrow | $ 39,905,035.00 | $ 26,741,996.00 | $ 9,976,258.00 | $ 39,657,745.00 | $ 39,657,745.00 |
This calculation would put Joe in the 4 year $39.9M with a $26.7M signing bonus; slightly higher than what 24/7 Sports had reported.
Certainly this is going to be a weird offseason for contracts and the NFL might not even be able to play (typing that made my lose my breath). At the end of the day the deal will get done, Burrow will be in stripes and he is going to be a really rich man at a young age. We all hope that Burrow will be as good as Patrick Mahomes; however in the 2020 CBA change if Burrow makes the Pro Bowl in 2 of 3 years under his rookie deal his 5th year option will go up drastically. Let’s hope we have that problem to deal with in 2024!