Most Underpaid NFL Contracts | FanVerdicts

Cap-strapped teams are built on the deals nobody complains about — the ones where a player vastly outperforms his paycheck. This page surfaces those bargains: the strongest Contract Value Index (CVI) grades on the NFL board sitting on below-median salaries.

Rookie-scale contracts dominate the conversation here, but they are not the whole story. A veteran who took a hometown discount or a mid-tier free agent on a value deal can grade just as high, because the math is the same: elite return relative to cost.

For a front office, every name on this list is a small competitive edge — money saved that can be spent somewhere else on the roster.

The 20 NFL bargains below cost just $118.9M per year combined, led by value at RB — a fraction of what their grades would command on the open market.

Salary figures are average annual value. Cuts and releases are excluded — the Contract Value Index is not a valid signal on a non-contract move. Grades reflect value to the team, not raw talent.

Most Underpaid by Contract Value Index

Below-median NFL salaries earning the strongest Contract Value Index (CVI) grades. Ranked by grade quality, then by how little the team is paying.

#	Player	Contract	Avg / Yr	CVI
1	Jahmyr GibbsRB · Detroit Lions	4 yr deal	$4.5M	A+ A+
2	Brock BowersTE · Las Vegas Raiders	4 yr deal	$4.5M	A A
3

See the most overpaid deals instead →|Full best & worst value board →

What "underpaid" means here

A contract lands here when a team is getting one of the strongest Contract Value Index (CVI) grades on the board while paying below-median money — the bargains a smart front office locked in. These are the closest thing to a free win on the salary ledger. Read the full methodology.