{"id":851513,"date":"2026-04-03T16:15:35","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T16:15:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/851513\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T16:15:35","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T16:15:35","slug":"nfl-fifth-year-option-tracker-2023-first-round-draft-class","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/851513\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL fifth-year option tracker: 2023 first-round draft class"},"content":{"rendered":"


The deadline for NFL teams to pick up fifth-year options on the rookie contracts of 2023 first-round draft picks is May 1.<\/p>\n

Teams have to decide whether to keep the 31 players below for a fifth season. If the team declines the option, 2026 will be the last season on the rookie contract, making the player a free agent in 2027. If the option is picked up, the player remains under contract for 2027.<\/p>\n

We are tracking the entire 2023 class — which had only 31 picks after the Miami Dolphins<\/a>were stripped of their first-round selection<\/a>for violations of league policies relating to the integrity of the game — and updating as teams make their decisions.<\/p>\n

What is a fifth-year option?<\/p>\n

According to OverTheCap.com<\/a>, the 2020 collective bargaining agreement allows teams to exercise a fifth-year option for players drafted in the first round as an addition to the standard four-year rookie contract.Upon being exercised, the fifth-year option is fully guaranteed, and any base salary in the player’s fourth year that was not fully guaranteed will become so. The fifth-year salary is calculated based on four tiers: basic, playing time, one Pro Bowl and multiple Pro Bowls.<\/p>\n

\"\"The 2023 first-round draft class\"\"<\/p>\n

The Panthers will pick up the fifth-year option on Young and discuss whether a contract extension makes sense from the “big-picture view,” general manager Dan Morgan said in January.<\/a>The option keeps the top pick of the 2023 draft under contract through 2027, when he’ll be guaranteed $26.5 million.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

The Seahawks exercised Witherspoon’s option in March. Seattle is expected to discuss a long-term extension with the cornerback. The option for Witherspoon is expected to be worth approximately $21.2 million, according to OverTheCap.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

Forbes was drafted by the Commanders but was waived in 2024<\/a> and picked up by the Rams.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

The Seahawks exercised Smith-Njigba’s fifth-year option for 2027 — worth approximately $23.9 million. A week later, Seattle signed him to a four-year, $168.6 million contract extension<\/a> that makes him the highest-paid wide receiver in NFL history. With this new agreement, the two-time Pro Bowl selection is contractually tied to Seattle through the 2031 season.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

The Vikings will exercise Addison’s fifth-year option<\/a>, interim general manager Rob Brzezinski said. Addison will earn $2.6 million in 2026 and is now on the books for $18 million in 2027.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

According to general manager Brandon Beane, the Bills have picked up the fifth-year option on Kincaid — which would pay him $8.1 million for the 2027 season.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Smith was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys<\/a>but was traded<\/a> to the Jets at the 2025 trade deadline in a package for Quinnen Williams<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Jaguars general manager James Gladstone announced the team will be exercising Harrison’s option, which is estimated at $19 million.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

]<\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2026 ESPN Internet Ventures. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The deadline for NFL teams to pick up fifth-year options on the rookie contracts of 2023 first-round draft…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":851514,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2068],"tags":[116538,390,254,117,53,260,391,256,54,1310,257,113,25,12,7,345,253,392,125,110,393,262,58,259,249,55,56,255,6,242,109,2476,57,261,250,394],"class_list":{"0":"post-851513","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia-eagles","8":"tag-116538","9":"tag-arizona-cardinals","10":"tag-atlanta-falcons","11":"tag-baltimore-ravens","12":"tag-buffalo-bills","13":"tag-carolina-panthers","14":"tag-chicago-bears","15":"tag-cincinnati-bengals","16":"tag-cleveland-browns","17":"tag-daily","18":"tag-dallas-cowboys","19":"tag-detroit-lions","20":"tag-eagles","21":"tag-espn","22":"tag-football","23":"tag-green-bay-packers","24":"tag-houston-texans","25":"tag-indianapolis-colts","26":"tag-jacksonville-jaguars","27":"tag-kansas-city-chiefs","28":"tag-las-vegas-raiders","29":"tag-los-angeles-chargers","30":"tag-los-angeles-rams","31":"tag-minnesota-vikings","32":"tag-new-england-patriots","33":"tag-new-orleans-saints","34":"tag-new-york-giants","35":"tag-new-york-jets","36":"tag-nfl","37":"tag-philadelphia","38":"tag-philadelphia-eagles","39":"tag-philadelphiaeagles","40":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers","41":"tag-seattle-seahawks","42":"tag-tampa-bay-buccaneers","43":"tag-tennessee-titans"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851513","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=851513"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851513\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/851514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=851513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=851513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=851513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}