5th Year Option -- Added Value At #32

For QB - hungry teams, our #32 pick has a significant financial bonus in addition to the extra year that first - rounders are contractually bound by:

Every player selected in the first round of the NFL Draft will automatically have a fifth-year team option added into his contract. This option cannot be separately attached to the player contract.
The option allows a team to retain a player’s rights for five years rather than four, which is the bonus of selecting a player in the first round.
The salary for the fifth-year option is also different for two types of players: those selected in the top ten picks and all other first-round selections.
The option for top-ten picks is set at an amount equal to the salary of the Transition Tender (set in Article 10, Section 4 of the CBA) for the player’s fourth contract year. This salary is calculated, basically, by finding the average of the top ten highest Prior Year Salaries for players that played the same position.
For players selected between 11th and 32nd in the draft, the same calculation is used to compute their salaries. The difference is that the average of the third through 25th highest Prior Year Salaries for the player’s position equals the player’s fifth-year salary.

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http://in2theleague.wordpress.com/2013/ ... und-picks/

So, with our #32, a team intending to groom a QB prospect would get the extra first - round pick year and not be on the hook for the huge Pick 1 -10 money -- given a team desperate for a QB, we might be sitting pretty for a draft - down deal.

At same time it would be really nice to lock up a future pro bowler for a 5th year. I wouldn't trade down for peanuts. Just moving down one spot might be worth a 5th.