May 15, 2024
One of the better changes that came out of the NFL's 2011 Collective Bargaining Agreement was the pre-determined salary cap numbers of all rookie draft picks, which was designed to nearly eliminate rookie holdouts. It has succeeded.
Before the 2024 NFL Draft even began, salary cap numbers were already in place for every draft slot, from pick No. 1, which became Caleb Williams, to pick No. 257, Jaylen Key. Below are the Eagles' estimated rookie salary cap numbers for the next four years, using resources from OverTheCap.com.
We'll also use this page as something of a rookie signing tracker, checking off each player who has signed with a ✔️, as it happens.
| Player | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
| CB Quinyon Mitchell | $2,694,198 | $3,367,748 | $4,041,298 | $4,714,848 |
| DB Cooper DeJean | $1,687,930 | $2,109,913 | $2,531,896 | $2,953,879 |
| EDGE Jalyx Hunt ✔️ | $1,024,189 | $1,280,236 | $1,536,283 | $1,792,330 |
| RB Will Shipley ✔️ | $974,241 | $1,139,241 | $1,254,241 | $1,369,241 |
| WR Ainias Smith ✔️ | $878,574 | $1,043,574 | $1,158,574 | $1,273,574 |
| LB Jeremiah Trotter ✔️ | $877,117 | $1,042,117 | $1,157,117 | $1,272,117 |
| OL Trevor Keegan ✔️ | $858,569 | $1,023,569 | $1,138,569 | $1,253,569 |
| WR Johnny Wilson ✔️ | $844,252 | $1,009,252 | $1,124,252 | $1,239,252 |
| OL Dylan McMahon ✔️ | $841,525 | $1,006,525 | $1,121,525 | $1,236,525 |
During the 2027 offseason, the Eagles will also have the opportunity to exercise their fifth-year option on Mitchell for the 2028 season.
If you add up all the money in the "2024" column, the total estimated rookie pool for the Eagles' draft class is $10,680,595. So will they need $10,680,595 in cap space to sign all their rookies, right? Nah, it doesn't quite work like that. During the offseason until final cutdowns, the NFL only counts the top 51 earning players on the roster toward the salary cap. Only Mitchell and DeJean will replace players above the "top 51" line of demarcation, so to speak.
As you'll see on OverTheCap's Eagles page, there are a bunch of players at the back end of the top 51 who will count for a little over $1,000,000 against the cap this year. In other words, you would add up the cap numbers for Mitchell and DeJean, and subtract the cap numbers of the two players just above the 51-man demarcation. That number gives you the extra cap space the Eagles would need to sign their entire slate of draft picks.
I'll save you the work. It's $2,318,593. The Eagles currently have over $31 million in cap space, according to the NFLPA public daily salary cap report, so, you know, they'll have no problems signing all of their rookie draft picks, and will likely get that done sooner than later.
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