The 2023 NFL Draft Starts April 27th, 2023 – Over the next two weeks, the destiny of the nation’s top football talent will be decided on April 27th. There will be a lot of excitement among the NFL pre-draft prospects of 2023. Agents will be busy meeting with Teams to negotiate signing bonuses and contracts for the draftees they represent, and team representatives will be doing the best they can to stack their rosters for the year and stay under the NFL salary cap.
A lot of promises are being made, and a lot of hopes are being placed on the new crop of hopeful future NFL stars. But after the press has gone home, and the ink is dry on their contracts, when do these draftees receive their money?
Something a lot of people don’t know about NFL Draftees is that each of the 250+ players, regardless of whether they are the first pick in round one, or the last person picked in round seven — all of them will have to wait until late July to receive their first professional paycheck from their new team.
These athletes have worked hard to get into the 2023 NFL draft, and a lot of them want to buy a house for their parents or grandparents for supporting them throughout their journey to become pro football players. Some of them want to get a nice new car to look good showing up at their first practice, and others want to travel with their families. They may also want to buy a second home in the city of their new team.
The good news is, almost all these players are eligible to take advances on their NFL Contracts as well as their signing bonuses. Many of the top pics for the NFL draft were probably eligible to receive some advances even before the draft. But now that the draft is here, players and their agents will be looking to get the most out of whatever advance they take, so companies who finance NFL athletes will also be busy talking with players’ agents and financial managers if they have them, working out the details for their players to get their advances so they can purchase the things they have worked so hard to get.
NFL Draft 2023 Prospective Picks
This is going to be an exciting year. If you look online, there are a lot of mock drafts coming out already from people who are “in the know.” Many of those mock drafts have the same top two picks for the 2023 NFL Draft (Bryce Young and Will Anderson Jr.) and both are coming from Alabama. Once you get past the top two or three picks though, many experts differ on who will be the third, fourth, and fifth picks for the first round of the 2023 NFL draft.
NFL Teams will have three quarterbacks in the top ten to choose from including Alabama’s Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud from Ohio State, and Florida’s Anthony Richardson. But it isn’t all quarterbacks and cornerbacks taking up the top spots. There are a lot of Edges to be picked up in this draft as well as some excellent Tackles (like Georgia’s Jalen Carter) to help shore up the defensive lines of hungry NFL teams.
If you’d like to read more about this year’s top fifty draft choices, check out the NFL website.
How Much Will 2023 NFL Draft Picks Earn in Salary and Signing Bonuses?
The amount an NFL Draft player receives depends a great deal on which round they are picked in, and how far down the line they are chosen. Estimates show that in 2023 the 1st player picked in the first round will receive between a $6M – $27M signing bonus. But the last player picked in the 7th round is projected to receive a signing bonus of $150k or less. Every NFL Player, regardless of 1st pick to last pick in the 7th round, will receive the same $750,000 base salary during their rookie season.
Here is a complete list of signing bonuses and salaries associated with each round and slot.
How Does the NFL Decide Which Teams Pick First?
NFL Teams have been jockeying for the best position in the 2023 NFL Draft to pick up the players they want. This year Carolina will have the first pick in the first round; they have been discussing the need for a new franchise quarterback, but so far, these are just rumors. But you can bet that any NFL teams who are giving up their position in the draft to gain spots are not doing so haphazardly – you can count on them having a sound strategy in mind for choosing their spots in the 2023 NFL Draft.
How Do They Decide Which Teams Pick When in the NFL Draft?
There is a lot that goes into deciding the line of which teams pick and when. But the basics are, the worse a team performed relative to the rest of the league in the previous season, the higher they are in the lineup to pick players in the NFL Draft.
The teams that did not qualify for the playoffs in the previous season get draft slots 1-20, and the order is determined by the team with the worst record picking first and then the team with the next worst record, and so on. Teams that made the playoffs get slots 21 – 32 (again, in the lineup by best record last). The order of selection is determined by the reverse order of the finish in the previous season. The 29th and 30th spots are the two teams who lost their conference championship games in the previous year, and spots 31 and 32 are the two teams who went to the Super Bowl, with 32 being the winner.
But these are just the basics of how teams end up where they are in the line to pick players during the draft. There is a lot more to it than that. To read the entire set of rules on how the 2023 NFL Draft goes, please visit the NFL Website.
As of April 12th, here are the first twelve teams to make picks in the 2023 NFL Draft
- Carolina Panthers
- Houston Texans
- Arizona Cardinals
- Indianapolis Colts
- Seattle Seahawks
- Detroit Lions
- Las Vegas Raiders
- Atlanta Falcons
- Chicago Bears
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Tennessee Titans
- Houston Texans
- New York Jets
- New England Patriots
- Green Bay Packers
Source: https://www.nfl.com/news/2023-nfl-draft-order-for-all-seven-rounds
To see every team pick for all seven rounds of the 2023 NFL Draft – click here.
NFL Draft – Why it Matters
At the beginning of the NFL League Year, commencing with the free agency period, NFL teams begin looking for players to bolster their rosters to help them win games, get into the playoffs, the league championship, and maybe the super bowl. Remember, the teams with the worst record from the previous year pick first in the NFL Draft. This is their opportunity to sign top talent to their team and in so doing, improve their upcoming season and hopefully many seasons to come.
It is important to realize how important a few new talented players can be for an NFL team. Although NFL teams have a lot of staff and a lot of players and coaches, there are only eleven players on the field at a time. By picking up two or three great players from the draft a team can improve 30% (or more) of their total offensive or defensive lines, which can make a tremendous impact on their next season.
How much can a draft pick matter? Well, how much did drafting Patrick Mahomes matter for Kansas City? Cam Newton certainly made an impact at Carolina during his first year on the team. Joe Burrows has made a good showing since being drafted in 2020 by the Bengals. Make no mistake about it – the NFL draft is a big deal and teams have high expectations of the players they sign.
But top ranked NFL draft picks don’t always have a fairy tale ending. Do any of you remember the hype over Brian Bosworth (the Boz) in 1987 when he was a first round draft pick? His arrival in the NFL was so eagerly anticipated, one could have thought he was a one man team. He even had his own song and video out for a while, but his play as a Seahawks was unremarkable, to say the least. From JaMarcus Russel in 2007 to Josh Rosen in 2018, we have seen a lot of top ranked players coming out of college who were unstoppable in their college careers, but never amounted to much as a pro football player.
And then there are the surprises nobody ever imagined, like Tom Brady who was picked 199th in his draft class in the sixth round. In an interview he said while the draft was going on, he became so disheartened that he went for a walk outside and began preparing himself for the disappointment of not being drafted at all. Who could have known that one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time was at one point pacing outside the NFL draft, expecting to go home empty handed because nobody wanted him on their team?
All of this adds to the excitement of the NFL draft – because big money is being exchanged for these players who were rock stars in college football, and everyone wants to see how they will perform in the big leagues. If nobody ever “bombed” as an NFL player, there would be far less excitement over the draft. And if nobody ever succeeded and changed the trajectory of a team who couldn’t even make the playoffs the year before, nobody would care about the draft.
What is the NFL Salary Cap?
The NFL Salary cap is the total amount of money that each NFL team can spend on players’ salaries for a given season. Each year, this cap increases slightly as part of an agreement between the NFL and its Players’ Association (NFLPA). The NFL Salary Cap for 2023 is $224.8 million per team.
NFL Teams can’t just spend whatever they want on players. Every team must stay below the NFL Salary Cap for the year, which is the maximum combined amount they can spend on players for the entire team. The salary cap ensures that the wealthiest teams do not have a financial advantage over other teams, otherwise, teams could simply buy their way to the top and potentially stay there forever.
The salary cap also forces teams to make choices about whether they want to keep a veteran player who commands a high salary or pick up a player from the NFL Draft who is not injured and should have many good years of play in them.
The NFL salary cap is a big deal. Already in 2023, two teams have lost their picks in the NFL draft already because they are over their salary cap for the year and must remedy the situation if they want access to the 2023 draft at all. The NFL takes its salary cap seriously, and teams must be in line with it, or lose opportunities.
Joining a New Team is Expensive for Draftees
Something most people don’t realize is how expensive it can be for a draftee to join their new team. Players are just people. When they join their new team, they have to find somewhere to live in the city where they play. They may have a family already and want their family with them. Often players want to maintain a residence in their team’s city and keep their home of origin too. Most players will want to get a new vehicle for themselves after financially scraping by in college for so many years. It is also not uncommon for new athletes to thank their parents and other family members for their ongoing support by buying them a new home and vehicles. All of these costs add up quickly.
Why 2023 NFL Draftees Take Advantage of Contract Advances and Signing Bonus Advances
Can you imagine knowing you have millions of dollars coming to you and not being able to qualify for a loan on a car – because this is often the case for NFL Draftees who are young, and don’t have a well-established credit history yet – banks won’t loan them money. And as we mentioned before, once the draft is over, the ink is dry on new contracts, and the drama of the NFL draft has passed, players still don’t get their first check until July (the NFL Draft is at the end of April). Players need access to capital just like the rest of the world, so they work with financing companies for athletes who specialize in loans for professional athletes like NFL Players.
Most new draftees don’t want to wait until July to get some of their money. So instead, they opt to take out an NFL contract advance or get a signing bonus advance from an Athlete Finance Company. An NFL Contract Advance or Signing Bonus Advance allows players to get access to capital right away to start preparing for their new life as pro football players and get their hands on some of their money so they can buy the things they want.
To Apply for an NFL Contract Loan – Click Here
NFL Contract Advances and Signing Bonus Advances Are Not Just for Draftees
NFL Contract advances and signing bonus advances are not just for draftees or rookies. Veteran NFL players often utilize NFL contract advances to finance opening or purchasing businesses, buying a second (or third home), or financing the off season (NFL Players are not paid during the off season). They want access to their money as well, and they use it for contracts and/or signing bonus advances to get it when they need it.
Summary
The 2023 NFL Draft Starts April 27th, 2023 – Over the next couple of weeks, there will be a lot of excitement among the NFL pre-draft prospects of 2023, their agents, team representatives, and let’s not forget – the fans!
Agents will be busy meeting with Teams to negotiate signing bonuses and contracts for the draftees they represent, and team representatives will be doing the best they can to stack their rosters for the year and stay under the NFL salary cap.
Something a lot of people don’t know is that it is expensive to start your career in the NFL. Players will need to find somewhere to live in their new team city. A lot of them will also want to keep a residence near their home of residence for the off season. Some of these players are already married and have children and may want their wives and kids with them which means schools, tutors, nannies, and more. All these expenses add up quickly. And regardless of whether they are the first pick in round one or the last person picked in round seven — all the 2023 NFL draftees will have to wait until late July to receive their first professional paycheck from their new team.
The good news is, almost all the 2023 NFL Draftees are eligible to take advances on their NFL Contracts as well as their signing bonuses. Athlete Financing Companies who specialize in financing NFL Contract Advances and Signing Bonus Advances will be busy over the next several weeks talking with players agents and financial managers to work out the details for their players to get their advances so they can cover their up front expenses of joining their teams and so they can purchase the things they have worked so hard to get.
Just Click Here to Apply and Get Started Today.
An In-Depth Explanation of NFL Contract Advances for NFL Draftees
NFL Contract Loan Companies
NFL Contract Loan Companies understand how NFL players get paid, how contracts work, how signing bonuses are paid, etc. To us, a guaranteed NFL Contract is great collateral for making loans to NFL Draftees. It isn’t that we are any better than a bank. We just have different lending standards and view collateral differently.
Credit Not a Major Factor – With an NFL Contract Loan, your credit is not a major determining factor for Athlete Finance Companies. They are going to check your credit of course, but often they are not looking for the same things a bank is looking for. Having a low credit score or no credit history will not generally impact your ability to take out an NFL Contract Advance or Signing Bonus Advance even as a draftee. In fact, many players could have qualified for a pre-draft advance if they had known about it and desired to take advantage of it.
Speed – If you are an NFL Draftee and you need to get some of your money right away, NFL Contract Loans are a great way to do it. Compared to some traditional loans, getting an NFL contract loan is fast and easy. This is doubly true when you are dealing with Balanced Bridge Funding, which is a direct lender and underwrites your loan itself. Since they don’t have to deal with multiple layers of underwriting bureaucracy to get your loan approved, you can get your money fast when you need it.
Athlete Funding Companies know how the NFL Works – At Balanced Bridge Funding, we have been making loans for professional athletes for years. We know how the leagues work. We know how signing bonuses work. We know how off season and pre-season pay schedules work in all the various professional sports leagues including the NFL.
Because of this, we also understand how to loan money against contracts for NFL Players. We know that making loans to NFL Players is an excellent investment. It helps the athlete get the money they need to do the things they want to do and buy the things they want to buy, and we know we will get paid back because your contract is guaranteed.
How Much Money Can an NFL Draftee Borrow Against Their Contract or Signing Bonus?
If you work with Balanced Bridge Funding, we can generally fund up to five million dollars against your contract – or – as little as $25,000. The size of your contract plays a major role in how much of an NFL Contract Loan you can get.
How Long Does It Take To Get Approved For an NFL Contract Loan?
This is the best part. You can be approved and have your money from an NFL Contract Loan in a matter of days. You simply provide the documentation we need, sign your agreement, and send you the money right away. It is easier than you can imagine.
CASE STUDY: Buying a New House With a Professional Athlete Contract Loan
We received a request to secure real estate financing on a multi-million-dollar home for a professional athlete who had just signed a $40 million contract.
The Challenge
This Player had a limited credit history and limited cash reserves in relation to the purchase price but needed to make a significant down payment to qualify for the mortgage. However, they would not receive this money for several months (until camp started) and they didn’t want to miss the opportunity to purchase this specific home.
What We Did
We were able to provide this client with a contract loan for one hundred and four percent of the purchase price which was enough to cover all of the fees and closing costs for the home. The client ultimately saved 8% by doing a cash purchase of the home. The Player was not required to use his own funds for a down payment, and he closed on the home loan in one week.
About Balanced Bridge Funding
Balanced Bridge Funding provides funding for professional athletes from the NBA, NBA, NHL, MLB, and the MLS. If you are an athlete with a guaranteed contract, chances are we can fund a contract advance for you, and have your money to you quickly.
Types of Athlete Funding and Loans Balanced Bridge Can Provide NFL Players
- Guaranteed Contract Advances
- Non Guaranteed Contract Advances
- Pre draft advances
- NIL Advances
- Free-Agent/Arbitration-Based Contract Advances
- Real Estate Consolidation
- Banking and Refinance Solution
To get started, please begin by Applying. Just click the Apply to Get Started button below.
