Jaylon Smith drafted to Dallas Cowboys without activating $5 million clause

THIS star choked up with the emotion of getting drafted into the NFL, but narrowly missed out on activating a bizarre $5 million side deal.

Pay day.

JAYLON Smith just became a very wealthy man.

The Notre Dame linebacker must be a glass half-full kind of guy, because the 20-year-old choked up with emotion upon getting selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft.

The reason his emotion has been questioned is because he could have become an obscenely wealthy man.

It’s all to do with a loss-of-value insurance policy the Indiana product took out during his final year of college football.

The Cowboys shocked draft experts by picking Smith with the No. 34 overall selection, up to two rounds earlier than most talent scouts predicted.

While that decision showed how highly Dallas thinks of Smith, it ultimately cost him up to $4.1 million in an insurance payout.

Here’s how it works.

The All-American linebacker was expected to be a top five draft pick until disaster struck when he suffered a severe knee injury playing in the Fiesta Bowl against Ohio State in January.

Dollars.

He required surgery to repair two torn ligaments in the injured knee. It saw his draft value plummet as a result of the uncertainty surrounding his ability to comeback from the injury.

Fortunately for Smith, he had taken out draft insurance early in his junior year of college to protect against a serious injury costing him millions on draft day.

The extraordinary deal, as reported by ESPN, saw Smith take out a $5 million policy if he dropped as low as the third round in the 2016 draft because of an unforeseen injury.

The policy was activated if Smith fell to the second round or beyond.

He was immediately awarded a pay out of $700,000 tax-free when he wasn’t picked up in the first round.

Reports claimed Smith would have received an additional $100,000 for every draft spot he dropped from the first choice in the second round — the No. 32 overall selection.

Big day.

Unfortunately for Smith, Dallas spoiled his party, by drafting him with the third selection of the second round, meaning his total payout was just $900,000 — a $4.1 million loss on the $5 million he would have received for dropping deep into the third round.

That doesn’t mean Smith wanted to drop to being selected in the lower rounds.

Only players selected in the first two rounds of the draft receive guaranteed four-year contracts.

According to reports, Smith’s four-year deal with Dallas is estimated to be worth between $4.8 million and $8.2 million with a large amount of the money not guaranteed following a significant signing bonus.

The loss-of-value insurance wasn’t the only money Smith missed out on.

Previously expected to go in the top five picks, before the injury, Smith missed out on a four-year-contract worth at least $23,360,590, as reported by Forbes.

Los Angeles Rams No. 1 overall selection Jared Goff will earn an estimated $27,946,656 over four-years.

However, as said above, Smith was happy just to get selected.

"How about those @dallascowboys?" Jaylon Smith. Heading to Big D. What a pick. #NFLDraft https://t.co/0KGKampcTx

— NFL (@NFL) April 29, 2016

He was ecstatic, in fact. A dream come true — getting picked up by the most storied team in the NFL. America’s team.

“It’s been the most challenging time of my life but at the same time it’s the best time of my life where my dream has just come true,” Smith told ESPN.

“I’ve been wanting to play in the NFL since I was 7 years old.”

He’s a glass half-full kind of guy.

Newest Cowboy @TheJaylonSmith joins @TheDraftShow LIVE Draft Coverage: https://t.co/sTNYU8CutVhttps://t.co/IlTLoje1pZ

— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) April 30, 2016

Originally published as Jaylon Smith drafted to Dallas Cowboys without activating $5 million clause