The NFL calendar rolled over on March 9, finalizing all player signings made ahead of the 2017 regular season. As such, the figures of all NFL contracts signed by former CFL players this off-season are now public knowledge.
The most important figure in these deals is the signing bonus (or “guaranteed money”) included in each contract. Like in the CFL, signing bonuses count against the salary cap in the NFL even if the player in question is cut. As a general rule of thumb, players with higher signing bonuses are more likely to make their respective clubs when final cuts are made in early September.
The largest signing bonus ever paid out to a CFL player making the jump to the NFL was given to Cameron Wake by the Miami Dolphins in January of 2009, a four-year deal that included $1-million guaranteed.
All contract figures courtesy of Over The Cap.
DE/OLB Alex Bazzie — B.C. Lions/Indianapolis Colts
3 years, $550,000 average salary, $0 guaranteed
LB Adam Bighill — B.C. Lions/New Orleans Saints
3 years, $550,000 average salary, $0 guaranteed
DB Otha Foster — Saskatchewan Roughriders/Baltimore Ravens
1 year, $465,000 salary, $0 guaranteed
DB Anthony Gaitor — B.C. Lions/New Orleans Saints
1 year, $615,000 average salary, $0 guaranteed
DB Forrest Hightower — Ottawa Redblacks/New Orleans Saints
3 years, $550,000 average salary, $0 guaranteed
LB Jeff Knox Jr. — Saskatchewan Roughriders/Tampa Bay Buccaneers
3 years, $550,000 average salary, $0 guaranteed
LB Deon Lacey — Edmonton Eskimos/Miami Dolphins
3 years, $621,000 average salary, $200,000 guaranteed
P Richie Leone — B.C. Lions/Arizona Cardinals
3 years, $550,000 average salary, $0 guaranteed
LB Boseko Lokombo — B.C. Lions/Baltimore Ravens
3 years, $550,000 average salary, $0 guaranteed
KR Quincy McDuffie — Winnipeg Blue Bombers/Dallas Cowboys
2 years, $510,000 average salary, $0 guaranteed
DB Jeff Richards — Ottawa Redblacks/Carolina Panthers
3 years, $550,000 average salary, $0 guaranteed
WR Derel Walker — Edmonton Eskimos/Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2 years, $560,000 average salary, $100,000 guaranteed
DB Mitchell White — Ottawa Redblacks/Philadelphia Eagles
2 years, $529,000 average salary, $17,500 guaranteed
OL Greg Van Roten — Toronto Argonauts/Jacksonville Jaguars
2 years, $660,000 average salary, $0 guaranteed
