Under the rules for compensatory draft selections, a team losing more or better compensatory free agents than it acquires in the previous year is eligible to receive compensatory draft picks.
The number of picks a team receives equals the net loss of compensatory free agents up to a maximum of four. The 32 compensatory choices announced today will supplement the 224 choices in the seven rounds of the 2015 NFL Draft held on April 30-May 2 in Chicago.
The first round will begin at 8:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, April 30. The second and third rounds are set for Friday, May 1 at 7:00 PM ET followed by rounds 4-7 on Saturday, May 2 at 12:00 PM ET.
This year, the compensatory picks will be positioned within the third through seventh rounds based on the value of the compensatory free agents lost.
Compensatory free agents are determined by a formula based on salary, playing time and postseason honors. The formula was developed by the NFL Management Council. Not every free agent lost or signed by a club is covered by this formula.
The NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement limits the number of compensatory picks to the number of clubs then in the league (32). This year, three clubs – Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Green Bay – qualified for compensatory picks under the net loss formula but will not receive those picks because they ranked 33rd, 34th and 35th, respectively, among all compensatory picks. All three clubs will receive picks for other compensatory free agents lost who ranked within the top 32 compensatory picks.
The following 2015 compensatory draft picks have been determined by the NFL Management Council:
ROUND CHOICE
ROUND
OVERALL SELECTION
TEAM
3
33-97
New England
3
34-98
Kansas City
3
35-99
Cincinnati
4
33-132
San Francisco
4
34-133
Denver
4
35-134
Seattle
4
36-135
Cincinnati
4
37-136
Baltimore
5
33-169
Carolina
5
34-170
Seattle
5
35-171
Baltimore
5
36-172
Kansas City
5
37-173
Kansas City
5
38-174
Houston
5
39-175
Baltimore
6
33-208
Denver
6
34-209
Seattle
6
35-210
Green Bay
6
36-211
Houston
6
37-212
Green Bay
6
38-213
Carolina
6
39-214
Seattle
6
40-215
St. Louis
6
41-216
Houston
6
42-217
Kansas City
7
33-250
Denver
7
34-251
Denver
7
35-252
Pittsburgh
7
36-253
New England
7
37-254
San Francisco
7
38-255
Indianapolis
7
39-256
Arizona
The compensatory free agents lost and signed in 2014 by the clubs that will receive compensatory picks in the 2015 draft:
ARIZONA
Lost:
Antoine Cason, Karlos Dansby, Jim Dray, Andre Roberts
Gained:
Ted Ginn, Ted Larsen, Jared Veldheer
BALTIMORE
Lost:
Ed Dickson*, Corey Graham, James Ihedigbo, Arthur Jones, Michael Oher
Gained:
Darian Stewart
CAROLINA
Lost:
Ted Ginn, Domenik Hixon, Brandon LaFell, Michael Mitchell, Captain Munnerlyn
Gained:
Antoine Cason, Jerricho Cotchery, Ed Dickson
CINCINNATI
Lost:
Anthony Collins, Michael Johnson
Gained:
None
DENVER
Lost:
Robert Ayers, Zane Beadles, Eric Decker, Jeremy Mincey^, Knowshon Moreno, Shaun Phillips, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Wesley Woodyard
Gained:
Emmanuel Sanders, Aqib Talib, T.J. Ward
GREEN BAY
Lost:
Evan Dietrich-Smith, James Jones, C.J. Wilson*
Gained:
None
HOUSTON
Lost:
Joe Mays, Earl Mitchell, Antonio Smith, Ben Tate
Gained:
Kendrick Lewis
INDIANAPOLIS
Lost:
Antoine Bethea, Donald Brown, Kavell Conner
Gained:
Arthur Jones, Hakeem Nicks
KANSAS CITY
Lost:
Branden Albert, Jon Asamoah, Quintin Demps, Tyson Jackson, Akeem Jordan^, Kendrick Lewis^, Dexter McCluster, Geoff Schwartz
Gained:
Joe Mays, Vance Walker
NEW ENGLAND
Lost:
LeGarrette Blount, Dane Fletcher, Brandon Spikes, Aqib Talib
Gained:
Brandon Browner, Brandon LaFell
PITTSBURGH
Lost:
Ryan Clark, Jerricho Cotchery, Evander Hood, David Johnson*, Emmanuel Sanders, Al Woods
Gained:
LeGarrette Blount, Michael Mitchell, Arthur Moats, Cam Thomas
SEATTLE
Lost:
Brandon Browner, Breno Giacomini, Chris Maragos^, Clinton McDonald, Paul McQuistan^, Golden Tate, Walter Thurmond^
Gained:
None
SAN FRANCISCO
Lost:
Tarell Brown, Anthony Dixon, Donte Whitner
Gained:
Antoine Bethea
ST. LOUIS
Lost:
Kellen Clemens, Shelley Smith, Darian Stewart, Chris Williams
Gained:
Kenny Britt, Alex Carrington, Shaun Hill
*Did not qualify for a compensatory pick, 32 picks already awarded.
^Compensatory pick not awarded. Maximum of four already allocated.
TOTAL 2015 NFL COMPENSATORY DRAFT PICKS
Denver
4
Kansas City
4
Seattle
4
Baltimore
3
Houston
3
Carolina
2
Cincinnati
2
Green Bay
2
New England
2
San Francisco
2
Arizona
1
Indianapolis
1
Pittsburgh
1
St. Louis
1
TOTAL
32
NFL CLUB SUMMARY OF COMPENSATORY DRAFT PICKS, 1994-2015*
Baltimore
44
Green Bay
35
Dallas
33
St. Louis **
31
Philadelphia
30
Pittsburgh
30
Tennessee *
30
New England
29
Buffalo
26
San Francisco
25
Cincinnati
24
Seattle
24
NY Giants
23
Indianapolis
21
Detroit
19
Jacksonville
19
Kansas City
19
Atlanta
18
San Diego
18
Tampa Bay
18
Arizona
17
Chicago
17
Miami
17
Minnesota
17
Oakland
17
Carolina
16
Denver
13
NY Jets
13
Houston
12
Washington
12
New Orleans
10
Cleveland
6
TOTAL
683
1994 was the first year that compensatory draft choices were awarded.* St. Louis picks include those awarded to Los Angeles Rams.
Tennessee picks include those awarded to Houston Oilers.*