At a salary of 455k, The average UDFA makes what the average GT grad makes in a year of they last on a roster for just 2 weeks even if they aren't on a roster in a game. They make it through training camp, they make what a GT grad makes in 7.5 years in 4 months. Fact is UDFAs pay way more than degrees, and the higher your star, the more likely you are to make it. Training camp pays higher/week than what average GT grads make as well, even if you don't end up on a roster. And that's not including signing bonuses.
I’m not 100% certain but someone here more knowledgeable can confirm (these are last year’s numbers). The minimum salary in 2018 was $480k (roughly $30k a week for each week you can stay on the roster), however there’s some fine print contract details that keep the lower levels from cashing in:
A. The highest paid UDFA got a $5k bonus & $40k in base pay guaranteed.
B. Number 10 out of the hundreds of UDFA’s got $20k, $10k bonus & $10k base pay guaranteed
C. Practice squad during the season pays $6900/wk. If you can stay on it all year you can make a bit over $110k. Not sure anyone Stayed on the PS all of this year.
D. I believe room & board is provided during training camp but the weekly pay for rookies is around $1100/week.
E. They pay minimum about $15k to an agent at the lowest end of the salary scale. I’m sure that’s prorated somehow if you get cut early.
Friend of mine’s kid had this happen & he was someone you saw on NCAA highlights periodically for a top P5 team and that kid went underrated:
A. He paid somewhere between $15-20K to get trained up for the draft. Admittedly, he bulks up & gets much stronger. Picks up some techniques that make him better than he ever was before. He’s felling good.
B. He went undrafted. Agent says no big deal, maybe it’s best because you don’t get stuck on a team that doesn’t have need for you.
C. First call was to the Bills. He flew to Buffalo at own expense for a try out. 2nd day gets his chance & is told to go back to hotel & wait. Day 4 told, we’re not interested. Agent tells him to fly to Cleveland.
D. Cleveland gives him a physical. Run thru some drills on day 2. Hey c’mon back for day 3. Day 4, we’re not sure you might want to hang out. Day 5 agents says head to Pittsburgh, you’re just what they’re looking for.
E. Pittsburgh was the straw that broke the camel’s back. He gets stiff armed for 3 days & agent tells him to go back to Cleveland.
F. He heads home. He’s about $25k in debt & feels like he got lied to everywhere.
Bottom line: He was a smart kid that got his degree thankfully. He started off at $35k at a nice company on the panhandle & his dad told me a couple year’s back he got a nice promotion and was raising a family. He was still paying everybody back from the NFL loans. Maybe he just got screwed but I think he’s more the norm than the exception.
