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Though the Saints drafted him with the 12th overall pick in tonight's NFL Draft, Sheldon Rankins won't officially become a member of the team until he signs his rookie contract.
By rule of the collective bargaining agreement his contract will be four years with a fifth year option. There is also a set range his contract can be worth, which is based on his draft position. According to former agent and self-professed NFL contracts and salary cap expert, Joel Corry, Rankins is set to earn just shy of $13 million with a $7.5 million signing bonus.
The maximum Sheldon Rankins will get in his 4-year rookie deal is $12,801,652, which includes a signing bonus of no more than $7,510,292.
— Joel Corry (@corryjoel) April 29, 2016
The Saints are currently just $3,317,845 under the salary cap, according to the NFLPA website. Other than the Kansas City Chiefs, that's the least amount of cap space in the league. But they will be able to afford to sign all of their draft picks, don't worry about that.
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Saints 2016 NFL Draft Picks
| Round | Pick | Overall | Player |
| 1 | 12 | 12 | Sheldon Rankins, DT, Louisville |
| 2 | 16 | 47 | |
| 3 | 15 | 78 | |
| 4 | 14 | 112 | |
| 5 | 13 | 152 | |
| 7 | 16 | 237 |
Saints Team Needs
- Defensive End
Defensive Tackle- Linebacker
- Guard
- Wide Receiver
- Cornerback
Saints Draft Resources
- Saints NFL Draft Headquarters
- CSC Community Big Board
- Saints Mock Draft Database
- CSC Community Mock Draft
NFL Draft Schedule
Thursday, April 28 - 7:00 p.m. CT (Round 1 - 10 Minutes Per Pick)
Friday, April 29 - 6 p.m. CT (Round 2 - 7 Minutes, Round 3 - 5 Minutes Per Pick)
Saturday, April 30 - 11 a.m. CT (Rounds 4-6 - 5 Minutes Per Pick, Round 7 - 4 Minutes Per Pick)
NFL Network and ESPN/ESPN2 will televise the draft.