2 So, why is it that the average ex-NFL player doesn’t look, financially at least, like your average retiree? The NFL minimum rookie salary ($495,000 in 2019) is almost 10 TIMES what the average college graduate receives for an entry-level salary! 1 The average person in the workforce with a college degree earns about $2.25M in their lifetime, or at least what NFL players will earn over the life of their rookie contract (first four years). But, what’s next? It’s a well-known fact that the average NFL career is 3.5 years. After the stadium lights turn off, what’s next? Oftentimes, an NFL player’s first full-time job is playing professional football.
