Here is a link to the updated terms of the 5th-year option under the new 2020 CBA:
https://frontofficenfl.com/2020/06/04/2020-nfl-cba-explained-5th-year-option-in-rookie-contracts/
Below are the terms of the 5th-year option prior to the changes made during the 2020 CBA negotiations:
Every player selected in the first round of the NFL Draft will automatically have a Fifth-Year Option added in his contract. This option cannot be separately attached to the player contract.
The option allows a team to retain a player’s rights for five years rather than the standard four, which is the bonus of selecting a player in the first round. In order to extend the contract, the team must inform the player during the period between the last regular season game of his third contract year and May 3 of the next League Year (Art. 7, Sec. 7, (a), 31).
The Fifth-Year Option is non-negotiable, and the non-compensation terms from a player’s rookie contract will be transferred to the fifth year.
Many terms allowed in other contracts are prohibited from being added into the Fifth-Year Option. These terms include Option Bonuses, Option Exercise Fees, option Non-Exercise fees, Option Buyouts, or any other compensation that stems from the team exercising or declining the Fifth-year option (Sec. 7 (d), 31).
When a team exercises the option, it becomes guaranteed for injury only. If the player is on the team’s roster at the start of the League Year in his option season, his salary becomes fully guaranteed for skill, cap and injury.
The payments are not considered Rookie Salary and do not count toward league or club rookie pools or allocations. The player’s option-year salary is also not subject to the 25% Rule.
The salary of the option year is also the only payment a player is eligible to receive for football services outside of minimum offseason workout per diems and compensation for non-football related team activities.
The salary for the Fifth-Year Option is also different for two types of players: those selected in the top-ten picks and all other first-round selections.
The option for top-ten picks is set at an amount equal to the salary of the Transition Tender (set in Article 10, Section 4 of the CBA) for the player’s fourth contract year. This salary is calculated, to put it simply, by finding the average of the top ten highest Prior Year Salaries for players at the same position. Positions are defined by where a player spent the most plays during the previous season (Sec. 7, (a), 31), unless you ask Jimmy Graham.
For players selected between 11th and 32nd in the draft, the same calculation is used to compute their salaries. The difference lies in what is averaged; rather than the top ten, the 3rd-25th highest Prior Year Salaries for the player’s position will be used.
If a team decides to use its option, the player can face substantial fines for refusing to report to camp on time and/or at all. Players can be fined up to $30,000 per day of training camp missed and a fine equal to one week’s regular season (1/17 of P5 Salary) check for any preseason games missed.
The Fifth-Year Option is intended provide teams with more security when it invests a valuable first-round pick on a player.
Front Office Football 
Does the fifth year option transfer to another team if that player is traded before the contract option is picked up?
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Yes, if the player is traded before the exercise window, the new team can exercise (or decline to exercise) the 5th-year option (i.e. Phillip Dorset). If his previous team had already exercised prior to trading (i.e. Amari Cooper), the exercises option is included in the traded contract.
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Last question was in regard to fifth year options on rookie contracts.
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If an NFL team declines a 5th year option, can it re-sign the player to a new deal before the contract expires, or, are they prohibited from doing so until after the original 1st round contract has expired?
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Hey Eric,
The team can still sign the player to a new deal before the expiration of the contract. Declining the option just means they are not exercising the team option for that 5th year.
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If a team declines a players 5th year option, can they franchise tag on him.?
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Yes, they can.
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Once a team exercises a 5th year option, can the player sit out the year and become a free agent in year 6 or does the team still retain his rights for another year?
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His contract tolls, and the team retains his rights.
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“Unless you ask jimmy graham “ is very funny. Very funny. I got a good laugh from that. Nice job.
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That you got that makes me happy. Hahaha. Appreciate you, Al!
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The 5th year option must be in the contract offered to the rookie, but can the rookie negotiate to remove it from the contract?
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Can a team shift 5th year option salary to signing bonus to extend a player? Example – player set to earn $10m in 5th year option money signs a 3-year extension by shifting $9m to bonus. Cap hit in 5th year reduced from $10m to $4m – nice line on Jimmy Graham.
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If a fifth year option was not exercised by a club and they subsequently release the player to waivers, does a club that acquires the rights to the player through waivers regain the ability to utilize the 5th year option? Nothing in the CBA, that I can find, covers this?
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No, they do not regain the ability. The window to exercise the option has already closed.
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