Johnny Manziel Lost $12 Million By Falling In The NFL Draft

AP

By falling to the bottom of the first round of the NFL Draft, Johnny Manziel will make $11.7 million less on his rookie contract, than what he would have made if drafted in the top five.

Many NFL Draft experts projected Manziel to be selected by the Cleveland Browns with the fourth pick of the draft.

After the Browns traded the fourth pick, the Buffalo Bills selected Sammy Watkins who is projected to sign a 4-year contract worth $19.94 million according to Spotrac.com. That is a slight increase over last year's fourth pick, Lane Johnson of the Philadelphia Eagles, who signed a 4-year, rookie contract worth $19.85 million

Meanwhile, Manziel is projected to sign a 4-year contract worth $8.25 million, $11.69 million less than Watkins.

Here is a look at the contracts for first round picks in the 2013 draft. This year's contracts are projected to be only slightly larger.

Getty Images

Negotiations will decide the size of their signing bonuses and the amounts guaranteed. However, Johnson received a $12.82 million signing bonus last year and seven of the top nine players drafted received contracts that were fully guaranteed (including Johnson).

Desmond Trufant, who was the 22nd pick last year, received a signing bonus of just $4.32 million with just $6.95 million (85.1%) of the total contract guaranteed.

If Manziel is successful with the Browns, he will be able to renegotiate his deal after his third season. But until then, he will have to think about what could have been.