There are several factors used to determine the cost of a fifth-year option,
based on the 2020 NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement. There have been changes made to the factors over the years, but the following are the steps for players drafted in the first round in 2018 and beyond.
The highest-paid fifth-year option will be for players who earn multiple Pro Bowls on the original ballot in their career. Alternates are not counted. Those players will earn a salary based on the franchise tag cost of a player at that position. Next up are players who are named to just one Pro Bowl. Those players earn the equivalent of their respective position's transition tag cost.
If a player was not named to any Pro Bowl teams (or was only named as an alternate), playing time becomes a factor. Players that appeared in either 75-plus percent of possible snaps in two of their first three seasons, an average of 75-plus percent of possible snaps during all three seasons, or at least 50 percent of possible snaps all three seasons will receive a salary that is the average of the 3rd-20th highest paid players at the position over the past five years.
First-round picks who don't meet that playing time criteria earn an average of the 3rd-25th highest salaries over the past five years.
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Congrats, Kyle!
