{"id":877538,"date":"2026-04-29T05:09:34","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T05:09:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/877538\/"},"modified":"2026-04-29T05:09:34","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T05:09:34","slug":"nfl-fifth-year-option-tracker-deadline-arriving-for-decisions-on-2023-draft-class","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/877538\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL fifth-year option tracker: deadline arriving for decisions on 2023 draft class"},"content":{"rendered":"

The next notable date in the NFL offseason<\/a> is May 1 \u2014 the deadline for teams to exercise fifth-year contract options for the draft class of 2023.<\/p>\n

First-round draft picks sign four-year deals in the NFL, and teams have a fifth-year option on each for the 2027 season. These fifth-year options come with significant pay jumps designated by the collectively bargained rookie wage scale. The value of the options are based on a player\u2019s position, performance and availability<\/a> through the first three seasons of his contract.<\/p>\n

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For example, quarterback Bryce Young, the No. 1 pick of the 2023 draft, signed a four-year rookie deal with the Carolina Panthers valued at $38 million. Per Spotrac<\/a>, the projected fifth-year option on his deal is valued at $25.9 million, more than double that of his $12.1 million salary from Year 4 of his contract.<\/p>\n

Teams that exercise options maintain the ability to negotiate a long-term extension with players, and some already have. How teams handle the fifth-year option is generally a good indicator of a player\u2019s success through his first three seasons.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how teams are handling fifth-year options for each of the 31 2023 first-round picks. There was no 32nd first-round pick in the 2023 draft. The Dolphins forfeited their pick due to tampering<\/a> with Tom Brady and Sean Payton.<\/p>\n

Option projections courtesy of Spotrac<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Bryce<\/p>\n

Bryce Young is expected to have his option picked up. Whether he gets an extension is yet to be determined.<\/p>\n

(Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)No. 1: Bryce Young, QB, Carolina Panthers<\/p>\n

$25.9 million option expected to be exercised: General manager Dan Morgan said<\/a> in January and again before the draft last week that the Panthers will pick up Young\u2019s option before Friday\u2019s deadline.<\/p>\n

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No. 2: C.J. Stroud, QB, Houston Texans<\/p>\n

$25.9 million option reportedly exercised<\/a><\/p>\n

No. 3: Will Anderson, EDGE, Houston Texas<\/p>\n

$21.5 million option exercised: The Texans also signed Will Anderson to a three-year, $150 million extension<\/a> through the 2030 season that makes him the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL based on annual salary.<\/p>\n

No. 4: Anthony Richardson, QB, Indianapolis Colts<\/p>\n

$22.5 million option not exercised. The Colts are all-in on Daniel Jones<\/a>, and Richardson is on the trade block<\/a>.<\/p>\n

No. 5: Devon Witherspoon, CB, Seattle Seahawks<\/p>\n

$21.2 million option exercised<\/a><\/p>\n

No. 6: Paris Johnson, OT, Arizona Cardinals<\/p>\n

$19.7 million option exercised<\/a><\/p>\n

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No. 7: Tyree Wilson, EDGE, New Orleans Saints (drafted by Raiders)<\/p>\n

$14.5 million option reportedly declined<\/a> by Saints after trade<\/p>\n

No. 8: Bijan Robinson, RB, Atlanta Falcons<\/p>\n

$11.3 million option exercised<\/a><\/p>\n

No. 9: Jalen Carter, DT, Philadelphia Eagles<\/p>\n

$27.1 million option exercised<\/a><\/p>\n

No. 10: Darnell Wright, OT, Chicago Bears<\/p>\n

$19.1 million option exercised<\/a><\/p>\n

No. 11: Peter Skoronski, G, Tennessee Titans<\/p>\n

$19.1 million option reportedly exercised<\/a><\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Lions have reportedly made two critical decision on contract options, including Jahmyr Gibbs’.<\/p>\n

(Stephen Maturen via Getty Images)No. 12: Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Detroit Lions<\/p>\n

$14.3 million option reportedly exercised<\/a><\/p>\n

No. 13: Lukas Van Ness, EDGE, Green Bay Packers<\/p>\n

$14.5 million option not exercised\/TBD<\/p>\n

No. 14: Broderick Jones, OT, Pittsburgh Steelers<\/p>\n

$19.1 million option expected to be declined<\/a>: Jones underwent spinal fusion surgery in December, and his long-term prognosis is unclear<\/a>. The Steelers, meanwhile, spent first- and third-round picks in last week\u2019s draft on offensive tackle Max Iheanachor and guard Gennings Dunker.<\/p>\n

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No. 15: Will McDonald, DE, New York Jets<\/p>\n

$14.5 million option expected to be exercised<\/a>, per GM Darren Mougey<\/p>\n

No. 16: Emmanuel Forbes Jr., CB, Los Angeles Rams (drafted by Commanders)<\/p>\n

$12.6 million option not exercised\/TBD<\/p>\n

No. 17: Christian Gonzalez, CB, New England Patriots<\/p>\n

$18.1 million option reportedly exercised<\/a><\/p>\n

No. 18: Jack Campbell, LB, Detroit Lions<\/p>\n

$21.3 milllion option reportedly declined<\/a>: Per reports, the price tag was considered too high<\/a> by the Lions to exercise the option for an off-ball linebacker despite Campbell\u2019s selection as an All-Pro last season.<\/p>\n

No. 19: Calijah Kancey, DT, Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/p>\n

$14.5 million option reportedly exercised<\/a><\/p>\n

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No. 20: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Seattle Seahawks<\/p>\n

$23.8 million option exercised<\/a>: Smith-Njigba also signed a four-year, $168.6 million extension<\/a> through the 2031 season, making him the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL based on annual salary.<\/p>\n

No. 21: Quentin Johnston, WR, Los Angeles Chargers<\/p>\n

$16.5 million option exercised<\/a><\/p>\n

\"As<\/p>\n

As a two-time Pro Bowler, Zay Flowers will play on a lucrative fifth-year option. A contract extension could be next.<\/p>\n

(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect \/ REUTERS)No. 22: Zay Flowers, WR, Baltimore Ravens<\/p>\n

$27.3 million option exercised<\/a><\/p>\n

No. 23: Jordan Addison, WR, Minnesota Vikings<\/p>\n

$18 million option exercised<\/a><\/p>\n

No. 24: Deonte Banks, CB, New York Giants<\/p>\n

$12.6 million option not exercised\/TBD<\/p>\n

No. 25: Dalton Kincaid, TE, Buffalo Bills<\/p>\n

$8.1 million option exercised<\/a><\/p>\n

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No. 26: Mazi Smith, DT, New York Jets (drafted by Cowboys)<\/p>\n

$13.9 million option not exercised\/TBD<\/p>\n

No. 27: Anton Harrison, OT, Jacksonville Jaguars<\/p>\n

$19.1 million option exercised<\/a><\/p>\n

No. 28: Myles Murphy, EDGE, Cincinnati Bengals<\/p>\n

$14.5 million option not exercised\/TBD<\/p>\n

No. 29: Bryan Bresee, DT, New Orleans Saints<\/p>\n

$13.9 million option reportedly exercised<\/a><\/p>\n

No. 30: Nolan Smith, EDGE, Philadelphia Eagles<\/p>\n

$13.8 million option exercised<\/a><\/p>\n

No. 31: Felix Anudike-Uzomah, EDGE, Kansas City Chiefs<\/p>\n

$14.5 million option not exercised\/TBD<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The next notable date in the NFL offseason is May 1 \u2014 the deadline for teams to exercise…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":877539,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[390,254,117,4127,1476,53,260,391,6032,256,113,2865,7,345,253,392,125,1674,476,2869,8265,110,262,58,3998,259,249,55,56,255,6,4368,109,57,525,261,250,394,7034,4648],"class_list":["post-877538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-arizona-cardinals","tag-atlanta-falcons","tag-baltimore-ravens","tag-bijan-robinson","tag-bryce-young","tag-buffalo-bills","tag-carolina-panthers","tag-chicago-bears","tag-christian-gonzalez","tag-cincinnati-bengals","tag-detroit-lions","tag-devon-witherspoon","tag-football","tag-green-bay-packers","tag-houston-texans","tag-indianapolis-colts","tag-jacksonville-jaguars","tag-jahmyr-gibbs","tag-jalen-carter","tag-jaxon-smith-njigba","tag-jordan-addison","tag-kansas-city-chiefs","tag-los-angeles-chargers","tag-los-angeles-rams","tag-lukas-van-ness","tag-minnesota-vikings","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-new-orleans-saints","tag-new-york-giants","tag-new-york-jets","tag-nfl","tag-options","tag-philadelphia-eagles","tag-pittsburgh-steelers","tag-raiders","tag-seattle-seahawks","tag-tampa-bay-buccaneers","tag-tennessee-titans","tag-tyree-wilson","tag-zay-flowers"],"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\/877538","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=877538"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/877538\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/877539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=877538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=877538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=877538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}