The deadline is approaching for NFL teams to pick up fifth-year options on the rookie contracts of 2021 first-round draft picks. Teams must decide whether to keep those players for a fifth season by May 2.
Some teams will sign players -- like Eagles WR DeVonta Smith -- to contract extensions; others will pick up the option and see if the player continues to develop; or teams can decline to keep the player for a fifth season.
Below, we will be tracking all of the picked-up and declined options for the 2021 class.
What is a fifth-year option?
According to OverTheCap.com, the 2020 collective bargaining agreement allows teams to exercise a fifth-year option for players drafted in the first round as an addition to the standard four-year rookie contract. Upon being exercised, the fifth-year option is fully guaranteed, and any base salary in the player's fourth year that was not fully guaranteed will become so. The fifth-year salary is calculated based on four tiers: Basic, playing time, one Pro Bowl and multiple Pro Bowls.
The 2021 first-round draft class
No. 5 overall pick: Ja'Marr Chase, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals have announced they will pick up Chase's fifth-year option. In his three years with the Bengals, Chase has caught 268 passes for 3,717 yards and 29 touchdowns, with an average of 13.9 yards per reception.
No. 6: Jaylen Waddle, WR, Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins will exercise the fifth-year option for wide receiver Waddle. He was an immediate success in his debut season, setting an NFL rookie record with 104 catches. He has surpassed 1,000 receiving yards in each season, and his 251 career receptions are the 12th most for a player in his first three seasons.
No. 7: Penei Sewell, OT, Detroit Lions
Sewell is signing a four-year, $112 million deal, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter. Sewell's contract includes $85 million guaranteed, the source told Schefter, the most for an offensive lineman, according to ESPN Stats & Information. The $28 million annual average salary in his contract is also the largest for an offensive lineman.
No. 9: Pat Surtain II, CB, Denver Broncos
A source told ESPN's Schefter that the Broncos have picked up the fifth-year option on the Pro Bowl cornerback. Because he has been selected for two Pro Bowls in his first three seasons, Surtain is eligible for a fifth-year option that projects to be a fully guaranteed $18.65 million for the 2025 season.
No. 10: DeVonta Smith, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles and Smith have agreed to a three-year extension that ties the wide receiver to the team through the 2028 season. Terms were not disclosed, but a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter that the contract is worth $75 million, with $51 million guaranteed. The team also exercised Smith's fifth-year option, which will pay him a salary of around $16 million for the 2025 campaign.
No. 11: Justin Fields, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers are not expected to pick up Fields' $25 million fifth-year option, league sources told ESPN's Schefter. Fields was traded to the Steelers by the Bears last month for a conditional sixth-round pick.
No. 12: Micah Parsons, EDGE, Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys have officially picked up Parsons' fifth-year option for 2025 at a cost of $21.324 million, a source told ESPN's Todd Archer. The price is determined by the position where he took the most snaps in 2023, which was defensive end. Ultimately, team hopes to sign Parsons to long-term deal.
No. 18: Jaelan Phillips, DE, Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins will exercise the linebacker's fifth-year option. Phillips set a Dolphins rookie record with 8.5 sacks in 2021 and followed it with a seven-sack campaign in 2022. He played only eight games last season before an Achilles tendon tear landed him on injured reserve, but he was on pace for a career-high 14 sacks.
No. 27: Rashod Bateman, WR, Baltimore Ravens
Bateman reached a two-year extension with the Ravens on Wednesday, which keeps the former first round pick in Baltimore through the 2026 season, the team announced. Bateman made team history, becoming the Ravens' first first-round wide receiver to sign a second contract with Baltimore.