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Before the 2011 NFL collective bargaining agreement that limited the spending on first-round picks, rookies were given large contracts without playing a snap in the NFL.
20 biggest rookie contracts in NFL history
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Quarterback Sam Bradford signed the last rookie deal of its kind. He became the highest-paid rookie of all time after the 2010 NFL Draft. Then the rules changed the very next year, limiting how much a rookie can get paid. Bradford signed a rookie deal worth a whopping $78 million. Since then, no rookie has ever come close to matching this contract amount. In back-to-back years, the first player taken overall broke the record for the biggest rookie contract.