The fifth-year option is the NFL’s Round 1 exclusive: every first-round pick signs a four-year rookie contract that carries a team option for a fifth season, exercisable after the player’s third year and no later than May 1. Under the 2020 CBA, the option salary is fully guaranteed the moment it’s picked up – and it’s priced by performance, not draft slot, across four tiers ranging from a modest positional average up to the full franchise tag value for two-time Pro Bowlers.
The 2026 deadline just resolved the 2023 draft class: 22 of 31 options were exercised, locking in 2027 salaries from Dalton Kincaid’s $8.1 million to the $25.9 million apiece for quarterbacks Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud. Players whose options were declined will play out 2026 as the final year of their deals and hit free agency next March.
The chart below covers the mechanics, the four salary tiers, and this year’s key decisions. Take a look, then we’ll get into why the option shapes the entire first round.
NFL CONTRACTS
How the Fifth-Year Option Works
The Round 1 exclusive: a fifth season of team control, priced in four tiers
WHO
Round 1
Only first-round picks
DEADLINE
May 1
After season three
GUARANTEE
Full
Once exercised (2020 CBA)
2026 CLASS
22 of 31
2023 options picked up
The mechanics
How the option works under the 2020 CBA
| Rule |
Detail |
| Who gets one |
Every first-round pick’s four-year rookie deal includes a team option for a fifth season – Rounds 2-7 get nothing |
| The decision window |
Teams exercise or decline after the player’s third season, no later than May 1. The 2026 deadline covered the 2023 draft class, locking in 2027 salaries |
| Fully guaranteed |
Since the 2020 CBA, the option salary is fully guaranteed the moment it’s exercised – and any unguaranteed fourth-year base salary vests with it |
| If declined |
The rookie deal ends after year four and the player hits unrestricted free agency – unless the team turns to the franchise tag |
The four salary tiers
What the option pays is earned, not slotted
| Tier |
Qualification and price |
| Multiple Pro Bowls |
Two or more selections on the original ballot (alternates don’t count): the option pays the position’s full franchise tag value |
| One Pro Bowl |
One original-ballot selection: the option pays the transition tag value |
| Playing time |
Snap-share benchmarks across the first three seasons (roughly 75% playing time): average of the 3rd-20th highest salaries at the position |
| Basic |
Everyone else: average of the 3rd-25th highest position salaries |
The 2026 decisions
2023 first-rounders, 2027 option salaries
| Player |
Decision |
| Bryce Young, QB, Panthers (No. 1) |
Exercised – $25.9M for 2027 |
| C.J. Stroud, QB, Texans |
Exercised – $25.9M for 2027 |
| Will Anderson Jr., Edge, Texans |
Exercised at $21.5M, then replaced by a 3-year, $150M extension – the NFL’s highest-paid non-QB |
| Jaxon Smith-Njigba + Devon Witherspoon, Seahawks |
Both exercised – Seattle moved first on its 2023 pair |
| Jordan Addison, WR, Vikings |
Exercised – $18M for 2027 |
| Dalton Kincaid, TE, Bills |
Exercised – $8.1M for 2027 |
| Class-wide |
22 of 31 options exercised (Miami forfeited the 32nd pick); declined players play out 2026 and hit free agency in 2027 |
FIFTH-YEAR OPTION FACTS
It’s why pick 32 beats pick 33
The option exists only in Round 1 – a fifth year of team control at a below-market price is most of what teams trade up for at the back of the first round.
Original ballot only
Pro Bowl alternates don’t trigger the higher tiers – a distinction worth millions that agents track obsessively during December voting.
Extension or option, not both
Teams often exercise the option as a placeholder, then negotiate the real extension – Anderson’s $150M deal replaced his $21.5M option within days.
A Fifth Year Is the Real Prize
The option quietly restructures draft strategy. Teams trading up into the back of Round 1 are usually buying the fifth year as much as the player – an extra season of cost control worth tens of millions against a veteran deal. It reshapes extensions, too: exercising the option is often a placeholder that buys a franchise another year to negotiate (or another year of information before committing), and pairing a declined option with a franchise tag gives teams a two-step control ladder that can hold a star off the market until year seven. For the player, the tier system is the rare piece of the rookie-scale world where performance moves the number – one original-ballot Pro Bowl can be worth an eight-figure raise.
The Bottom Line
The fifth-year option gives teams one extra, fully guaranteed season of control over first-round picks – exercised by May 1 after year three, priced across four performance tiers from a positional average up to franchise-tag money. In 2026, 22 of 31 eligible options were picked up. It’s the biggest structural perk of the rookie contract scale, and alongside the franchise tag, it’s how the NFL keeps its best young players off the market for more than half a decade.
