Former Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Jeremiyah Love is set to receive an NFL contract worth an exorbitant amount, which is deemed to be up there with other historic first-year deals.
On Thursday, Love was among the college football standouts who were present in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for the draft and was expected to be a top pick in the first round of the selection.
Love was selected by newly-minted coach Mike LaFleur’s Arizona Cardinals with the third overall pick in the first round of the NFL Draft. With this, reports have surfaced that Love is projected to be signed to a fully guaranteed rookie contract worth a total of $53.87 million. This is said to be the biggest contract for a rookie running back in the league’s history, and seventh-highest for the position overall.
Love is fresh off his third and final stint of college football with coach Marcus Freeman’s Fighting Irish team in the recently concluded season. In the said campaign, they finished with an overall record of 10-2 and did not have any sort of conference play. Despite their efforts, Notre Dame was not invited to compete in this year’s college football playoff and had no other postseason action after their regular season ended.
The Missouri native spent all three seasons of his college tenure with the Fighting Irish, and had one year of eligibility left had he chosen to extend his collegiate football stint.
Top 5 Rookie RB Deals Ft. Jeremiyah Love
As mentioned, Jeremiyah Love’s rookie contract as a running back is set to be the biggest for first-year players in the position in NFL history.
The previous record holder for guaranteed money in a rookie contract by a running back was the Philadelphia Eagles’ Saquon Barkley, around eight years ago, in 2018, who had a guaranteed contract of $36 million, with a total value of $41.2 million when he was selected with the second overall pick.
After Barkley, incoming Las Vegas Raiders sophomore Ashton Jeanty almost hit that mark when he was selected by his team a year ago in 2025 with a guaranteed rookie contract of $35.9 million.
To round out the top five rookie running back deals in league history, Minnesota Vikings’ Adrian Peterson signed a five-year, unguaranteed deal of $40.5 million in 2007, followed by 2023 Atlanta Falcons pick Bijan Robinson securing $21.9 million in guaranteed money.
Also Read: Jeremiyah Love Spills the Beans of Dad’s Hesitation With the Dallas Cowboys Amid Potential Union
Read More: Arizona Cardinals First Round Picks: List of Projected Players To Join Mike LaFleur’s Team
College Sports Network has you covered with the latest news, analysis, insights, and trending stories in tennis, college football, men’s college basketball, women’s college basketball, and college baseball!
