What is included in a rookie's Year-One Rookie Salary?

A rookie's Year-One Rookie Salary includes the Paragraph 5 Salary plus the prorated signing bonus. In the context of NFL contracts, Paragraph 5 refers to the basic salary that a player receives as part of their contract for the first year. The signing bonus, which is typically offered to incentivize players to sign with a team, is not fully counted against the salary cap for that year; rather, it’s prorated over the life of the contract. This means that a portion of the signing bonus is allocated to each year of the contract for salary cap purposes, effectively reducing the immediate cap hit in Year One. Consequently, when considering a rookie's total Year-One Salary, both the Paragraph 5 Salary and the prorated portion of the signing bonus must be included to arrive at an accurate figure.