The NFL unfortunately does not have a rookie salary cap, but it does have a Rookie Salary Pool, which determines how much money each team has to pay their rookie draft picks. The Pool is determined by a specific formula that has been in place for years and is still in effect for the 2010 season. According to the NFL, the number of draft picks a team has coupled with where they were taken in the draft determines how much money is put into each team's pool to pay these players and then each team is free to allocate it wherever they decide.
The Baltimore Ravens had seven draft picks with no one selected in the first round, hence one of the league's lowest pools of cash available to sign these guys. Only three teams all with less picks than the Ravens, have less cash to spend on their rookie draft picks. They are, in order of just behind the Ravens to the least amount available with the number of picks they have to sign, the Dallas Cowboys ($3.417/six), New York Jets ($2.660/four) and Chicago Bears ($2.003/five).
The team with the most amount of money to sign is also one of the top three teams with the most picks to sign, and not coincidently it is the team that selected first overall in April's NFL Draft. The St. Louis Rams must sign 11 draft picks with $7.596 million. Only the Philadelphia Eagles (13) and New England Patriots (12) have more players to sign, yet based on the slots thay picked in, the still have less money to sign those picks, $6.976 and $6.278, respectively.
There are a bunch of rules and guidelines that the teams must follow and the NFL Labor website.has the answers to a lot of questions you might have about how it is all configured. ESPN Insider has the pool broken down by team here. In the likely event you, like me, do not have the Insider, here are the teams with the number of draft picks and pool amounts:
Team Picks Pool (millions): Rams 11 $7.596 Buccaneers 9 $7.137 Seahawks 9 $7.057 Eagles 13 $6.976 Patriots 12 $6.278 Lions 6 $6.035 Chiefs 7 $6.007 49ers 8 $5.979 Browns 8 $5.878 Raiders 9 $5.854 Broncos 9 $5.798 Bills 9 $5.657 Steelers 10 $5.198 Bengals 9 $4.889 Texans 9 $4.800 Redskins 6 $4.709 Titans 9 $4.683 Dolphins 8 $4.472 Giants 7 $4.335 Panthers 10 $4.190 Colts 8 $4.121 Cardinals 7 $4.010 Jaguars 6 $3.954 Falcons 7 $3.930 Packers 7 $3.863 Chargers 6 $3.821 Vikings 8 $3.787 Saints 6 $3.446 Ravens 7 $3.438 Cowboys 6 $3.417 Jets 4 $2.660 Bears 5 $2.003