GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Here's what Kalen King was looking at if he had been able to enter the 2023 NFL draft: A signing bonus in the range of $7 million to $8 million as a mid-to-late first-round pick, a near-guaranteed roster spot and a shot at an immediate starting job.
Here's what King got out of the 2024 draft: A signing bonus of $80,736 and nothing more than the chance to earn a roster spot in training camp.
Such is the difference between the dreamy life of a first-round pick if players were allowed to declare for the NFL draft two years after finishing high school and King's reality as the third-to-last player taken in the entire draft after he had to return to Penn State for a third season.