If a rookie contract has a $4M signing bonus and an $840K Paragraph 5 Salary in Year One, what is the Year-One Rookie Salary?

To determine the Year-One Rookie Salary, you need to consider both the signing bonus and the Paragraph 5 Salary. The signing bonus is often prorated over the length of the contract for salary cap purposes, but it contributes to the player's total compensation in their initial year.

In this scenario, the rookie contract includes a $4 million signing bonus and an $840,000 Paragraph 5 Salary for the first year. The total Year-One Rookie Salary is the sum of the signing bonus that is allocated to that year and the Paragraph 5 Salary.

Typically, when a signing bonus is given, it is counted against the salary cap as a prorated amount—if the contract is for four years, only $1 million of the signing bonus would count against the cap in the first year. However, when you are looking at the total money received in that first year, you simply add the full signing bonus to the Paragraph 5 Salary.

Thus, the calculation would be:

• Paragraph 5 Salary: $840,000

• Portion of Signing Bonus considered for Year One: $4,000,000

Therefore, the total for Year One would be $4,000,000 (signing bonus) + $840,000 (Paragraph