The Arizona Cardinals were the league's most generous spenders, but former North Carolina A&T offensive lineman Qasim Mitchell the biggest individual winner, when it came to signing undrafted college free agents last month.

	Undrafted but not unwanted
	Led by former North Carolina A&T offensive lineman Qasim Mitchell, there were 15 undrafted free agents who received signing bonuses of $15,000 or more.
	Player	Team	Bonus
	OG Qasim Mitchell	Cle.	$26,250
	DE Brandon Hicks	Ind.	$20,000
	WR Ryan Tolhurst	Car.	$20,000
	CB Lenny Walls	Den.	$20,000
	FB Jeremy Allen	Min.	$15,000
	S Jack Brewer	Min.	$15,000
	OT Konrad Dean	Cle.	$15,000
	CB Willie Ford	Oak.	$15,000
	QB Shaun Hill	Min.	$15,000
	WR Devin Lewis	Min.	$15,000
	WR Jake Soliday	Ari.	$15,000
	FB Ed Stansbury	Hou.	$15,000
	OT Thatcher Szalay	Ari.	$15,000
	OG Teag Whiting	Oak.	$15,000
	QB Greg Zolman	Ind.	$15,000

Sought by about a dozen teams when the draft concluded, Mitchell eventually collected a signing bonus of $26,250 from the Cleveland Browns, the largest upfront money awarded to any undrafted player. According to NFL Players Association documents, Mitchell was one of four players who received signing bonuses of $20,000 or more.

There were 15 players, from among the pool of 453 undrafted prospects signed by teams, who earned signing bonuses of $15,000 or more.

"The frenzy with (Mitchell) was pretty incredible," said agent Eric Metz. "We probably could have raised the ante even a little more, especially with one or two of the teams who got involved, but Qasim felt like he liked the opportunity (with the Browns) the best."

The individual signing bonus awarded Mitchell was actually more than seven teams paid out in total to secure their cache of undrafted college free agents. And it rates among the highest signing bonuses of the past five years for an undrafted player.

By comparison, the New England Patriots signed just two undrafted players and NFLPA documents indicate neither received a signing bonus. The undermanned Baltimore Ravens signed 27 free agents, most in the league, but redefined cheap labor by paying out just $23,500 in signing bonuses.

The NFLPA documents offer a good look at the priority, or lack thereof, that some teams place on signing undrafted players. The Cardinals spent a league-high $171,500 in bonus payments for 19 free agents, and all but one of the players received upfront money. The team spent an average of $9,026 per free agent.

On the flipside, five teams signed fewer than 10 free agents each and 19 franchises spent less than the leaguewide average of $56,929 in signing bonuses.

"You have one or two (free agents), at best, make your roster every year. So why lay out money you're, in essence, just throwing away anyway?" said one NFC general manager whose team spent less than the NFL average on free agents.

In all, the 32 teams spent an aggregate $1.82 million for signing bonuses. Sixty-even of the 453 players acquired as undrafted free agents received no signing bonus at all. Of the players who received upfront money, the smallest payout was $500.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com. ESPN.com's John Clayton contributed to this report.