Compensatory Picks Explained: A UK Fan’s Guide to NFL Draft Strategy

Understanding NFL Compensatory Picks: A Guide for UK Commanders Fans

The NFL compensatory pick system represents one of the most unique roster-building tools in professional sports and is quite different from anything in UK sports. For Commanders fans in the UK, understanding this system helps explain many team decisions that might otherwise seem puzzling.

What Are Compensatory Picks?

Compensatory picks are additional draft selections awarded to NFL teams that lose more qualifying free agents than they sign during the previous year's free agency period. These picks are positioned at the ends of rounds 3 through 7 of the NFL Draft.

The Premier League Comparison

In Premier League football, when a player's contract expires, they become a free agent. They can sign with any club, with their former team receiving nothing in return, precisely like the NFL (young homegrown European based players being the exception). However, the NFL has created a system that provides some compensation for these departures through future draft picks.

The big difference lies in the NFL, where trades are structured around player exchanges or draft picks, without direct financial compensation between teams. This contrasts with Premier League transfers, where clubs receive fees for players still under contract.

How the Compensatory Formula Works

The NFL uses a formula based on three primary factors to determine compensatory picks:

1. Salary: The contract value the player receives from their new team

2. Playing time: How many snaps the player participates in with their new team

3. Postseason recognition: Pro Bowl selections, All-Pro honours, and other achievements

Each team can receive a maximum of four compensatory picks per draft, and the league awards approximately 32 compensatory picks annually across all teams.

Importantly, not all free agent departures qualify for the formula:

• Players who were released (rather than reaching the end of their contracts) don't count

• Only players signing before a specific deadline (typically in April) count toward the formula

• Free agent signings can "cancel out" free agent losses of similar value

Strategic Team Building Using Compensatory Picks

Understanding this system explains why teams sometimes make decisions that seem counterintuitive:

1. Calculated Free Agent Departures
   Teams might deliberately allow good players to leave in free agency if they calculate that the compensatory pick will provide better long-term value than retaining the player.

2. Strategic Free Agent Signings
   Teams may target players who don't count in the compensatory formula, such as:

   • Players released by other teams before their contracts expired

   • Players signed after the compensatory deadline

   • Re-signing their own free agents

3. Draft-and-Develop Pipeline
   Teams develop talent, get production from them on cost-controlled rookie contracts, and then often allow them to sign larger contracts elsewhere, collecting compensatory picks to continue the cycle.

The Commanders and Compensatory Picks

The Commanders have had mixed success with compensatory picks in recent years. Historically, the team didn't emphasise this strategy, but that's been changing:

In 2023, Washington received two compensatory picks—a third-round pick (No. 97 overall) for the loss of Brandon Scherff to Jacksonville and a sixth-round pick for Tim Settle signing with Buffalo. That third-round pick became Arkansas centre Ricky Stromberg.

For the 2025 draft, the Commanders did not receive any compensatory picks, as the team's free agent signings effectively cancelled out their losses. This illustrates how the system works, that teams active in signing external free agents typically receive fewer compensatory picks.

Looking ahead to 2026, current projections suggest Washington isn't likely to receive compensatory picks next year either, as the team has been active in free agency while losing players like Jeremy Chinn and Dante Fowler Jr.

The Future of Compensatory Picks for Commanders Fans

Under the leadership of general manager Adam Peters and head coach Dan Quinn, the team's approach to compensatory picks may evolve. Many successful franchises, such as the Ravens and Patriots, have historically made strategic use of this system a cornerstone of their team-building philosophy.

For UK Commanders fans, understanding this system provides insight into why teams might:

• Let popular players walk in free agency

• Sign specific types of free agents at particular times

• Trade for players rather than signing free agents

• Focus on developing players through the draft

This aspect of NFL team-building adds another layer of strategic depth to the sport, completely different from Premier League football, where clubs typically focus on transfer fees and player wages without this additional layer of future draft capital considerations.