May 03, 2026
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 2026 NFL Draft even began, salary cap numbers were already in place for every draft slot, from pick No. 1, which became Fernando Mendoza, to pick No. 257, Red Murdock. 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 the signings happen.
| Player | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 |
| WR Makai Lemon ✔️ | $3,834,688 | $4,793,335 | $5,752,002 | $6,710,669 |
| TE Eli Stowers | $1,629,770 | $2,037,213 | $2,444,656 | $2,852,099 |
| OT Markel Bell | $1,346,332 | $1,682,915 | $2,019,498 | $2,356,081 |
| QB Cole Payton ✔️ | $981,537 | $1,146,537 | $1,261,537 | $1,376,537 |
| OG Micah Morris ✔️ | $950,066 | $1,115,066 | $1,230,066 | $1,345,066 |
| S Cole Wisniewski ✔️ | $917,189 | $1,082,189 | $1,197,189 | $1,312,189 |
| iDL Uar Bernard ✔️ | $915,650 | $1,080,650 | $1,195,650 | $1,310,650 |
| EDGE Keyshawn James-Newby ✔️ | $915,650 | $1,080,650 | $1,195,650 | $1,310,650 |
During the 2029 offseason, the Eagles will also have the opportunity to exercise their fifth-year option on Lemon for the 2030 season.
If you add up all the money in the "2026" column, the total estimated rookie pool for the Eagles' draft class is $11,490,882. So will they need $11,490,882 in cap space to sign all their rookies, right? Nah. During the offseason until final cutdowns, the NFL only counts the top 51 earning players on the roster toward the salary cap. Only Lemon, Stowers, and Bell 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 Lemon, Stowers, and Bell, and subtract the cap numbers of the three 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 $3,375,790. The Eagles currently have a little under $30 million in cap space, according to the NFLPA public daily salary cap report, so, you know, it's no surprise that they have gotten to work quickly, already signing six of them so far.
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