In 2023, Houston Texans’ quarterback C.J. Stroud took the NFL by storm, earning Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. With quarterbacks being paid better than ever, what is Stroud making?
What Is C.J. Stroud’s Salary?
Taken second overall in the 2023 NFL Draft, Stroud signed a rookie contract with the Texans worth $36,279,243 over four years, an annual salary of just over $9 million. The deal was fully guaranteed and also included a $23,384,904 signing bonus. In 2024, Stroud will earn a base salary of $915,000 and a roster bonus of just over $1.4 million.
His cap hit in 2023 was $6.59 million and will increase to $8.24 million, $9.89 million, and $11.54 million in 2024, 2025, and 2026, respectively. If he were to get released, he’d carry dead cap hits of $29.68 million, $21.43 million, and $11.54 million.
In addition, the Texans will have a fifth-year option on Stroud’s deal they can exercise down the line to add one year onto his deal. The value on that option, which will be fully guaranteed, will not be known until it’s able to be exercised.
Thanks to being on a rookie deal, Stroud is the 27th-highest-paid quarterback in the NFL in average per year.
MORE: Who Are the NFL’s Highest-Paid Quarterbacks in 2024?
To put Stroud’s rookie contract into perspective, Sam Bradford signed the largest rookie contract ever in 2010 when he inked a six-year deal worth $78 million, with $50 million guaranteed. However, rules have since been changed capping rookie contracts at four years with a fifth-year option, also making a salary floor and ceiling for each deal.
Additionally, rookie contracts can not be reworked. “A rookie contract for a drafted rookie may not be renegotiated, amended or altered in any way until after the final regular season game of the player’s third contract year,” stated Article 7 of the NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement.
What Is Stroud’s Net Worth and Career Earnings?
In the second year of his deal, Stroud has earned just over $24.1 million in career earnings. That includes his signing bonus and $750,000 base salary in 2023. Stroud’s net worth sits at approximately $12 million.
He has also earned money through sponsorships, but the exact value of those is unknown. Some of the companies he’s partnered with include Designer Shoe Warehouse (DSW), Express, Value City Furniture, Kane Footwear, Dr. Teal’s, and eFuse.
On3 did, however, list Stroud’s name image and likeness (NIL) value as $2.9 million during his final season of college. It doesn’t guarantee he made that amount, but does point to the fact he could have, and likely did, make a lot of money before joining the NFL ranks.
According to Stroud, the first purchase he made with his rookie contract was getting his mom, sister, and brother all cars. “I’m more of a giver,” said Stroud after being asked the question. “So that was pretty cool and just to see them with their new rides having a good time with those. So that’s more of the pleasure that I got.”