Why almost none of the 2nd round picks have signed

[mekadave]

Here's why Dolphins second-round pick Jonah Savaiinaea still hasn't signed​

Hours ahead of the start of rookie minicamp earlier in May, the Miami Dolphins announced that seven of their eight 2025 NFL draft picks signed their rookie contracts. The sole exception, second-rounder Jonah Savaiinaea, still participated in the camp, but remains unsigned more than a couple weeks later.

So what's the hold up?

It isn't just Savaiinaea. While over 200 of the 257 players selected in the 2025 NFL draft have signed contracts, almost every second-round pick remains unsigned. That's probably due to the deal No. 34 overall pick Jayden Higgins got from the Houston Texans.

On May 8, Higgins signed a fully guaranteed four-year, $11.7 million deal with the Texans -- the first of its kind for a second-round pick. A day later, the No. 33 overall selection Carson Schwesinger signed a fully guaranteed contract of his own with the Cleveland Browns.

At that point, the second-round deals came to a screeching halt.

Instead of a wave of contract announcements, it's been radio silence. That's likely because there's an ongoing standoff between second-rounders hoping for a full guarantee of their own and teams hoping to avoid setting a precedent.

The total for Savaiinaea's contract is already pre-determined by his draft position as the No. 37 overall pick. He'll receive a four-year deal worth a little more than $11.3 million. But how much of that will be guaranteed remains to be seen.
The No. 37 overall pick in 2024, New England Patriots wide receiver Ja'Lynn Polk, signed a four-year, $9.7 million deal with $8.2 million guaranteed. Dolphins offensive tackle Patrick Paul, who was taken 18 spots later, had $4.2 million of his $6.9 million contract guaranteed.

There's still a couple months until teams report to training camp, which means there's plenty of time for the dominoes to start falling in time for the standoff to end without holdouts. For now, though, it's wait and see.

MSN

 

[BrowardDolfan]

I've seen where most 1st rounders' deals this year are fully guaranteed as well. I'm not sure why teams are setting this precedent, but it looks like it may be here to stay - at least for first and second day drafted players. I thought the Kirk Cousins and DeShaun Watson fully guaranteed deals would have made teams wary of giving guaranteed deals, especially in a sport with as many injuries as the NFL, but I was wrong.

 

[Springveldt]

I've seen where most 1st rounders' deals this year are fully guaranteed as well. I'm not sure why teams are setting this precedent, but it looks like it may be here to stay - at least for first and second day drafted players. I thought the Kirk Cousins and DeShaun Watson fully guaranteed deals would have made teams wary of giving guaranteed deals, especially in a sport with as many injuries as the NFL, but I was wrong.

I always thought first round deals were fully guaranteed except the 5th year option, I never looked into the details.

I think it will be hard for teams to get the 2nd round guys signed this year after what Cleveland and Houston have done.

 

[Ozfin]

I've seen where most 1st rounders' deals this year are fully guaranteed as well. I'm not sure why teams are setting this precedent, but it looks like it may be here to stay - at least for first and second day drafted players. I thought the Kirk Cousins and DeShaun Watson fully guaranteed deals would have made teams wary of giving guaranteed deals, especially in a sport with as many injuries as the NFL, but I was wrong.

Talking precedences, if the 2nd rounders do get full guaranteed money what happens next year?
Will 3rd rounders ask for it as well?
Making a rod for their own backs.

​

 

[The Goat]

I've seen where most 1st rounders' deals this year are fully guaranteed as well. I'm not sure why teams are setting this precedent, but it looks like it may be here to stay - at least for first and second day drafted players. I thought the Kirk Cousins and DeShaun Watson fully guaranteed deals would have made teams wary of giving guaranteed deals, especially in a sport with as many injuries as the NFL, but I was wrong.

First-round picks are always fully guaranteed with a fifth-year option. That's part of the current CBA.

 

[AMakados10]

Texans and Browns screwing it up for everyone.

Cam Smith like where’s my fully guaranteed deal!?

 

[The Goat]

Texans and Browns screwing it up for everyone.

Cam Smith like where’s my fully guaranteed deal!?

Yeah, I'd imagine the next CBA is going to have salaries slotted in for nearly every round and UDFA. There's also an article out there somewhere about how it's actually more profitable to be a UDFA than a 6th or 7th round pick now.

 

[Ray R]

Here's why Dolphins second-round pick Jonah Savaiinaea still hasn't signed​

Hours ahead of the start of rookie minicamp earlier in May, the Miami Dolphins announced that seven of their eight 2025 NFL draft picks signed their rookie contracts. The sole exception, second-rounder Jonah Savaiinaea, still participated in the camp, but remains unsigned more than a couple weeks later.

So what's the hold up?

It isn't just Savaiinaea. While over 200 of the 257 players selected in the 2025 NFL draft have signed contracts, almost every second-round pick remains unsigned. That's probably due to the deal No. 34 overall pick Jayden Higgins got from the Houston Texans.

On May 8, Higgins signed a fully guaranteed four-year, $11.7 million deal with the Texans -- the first of its kind for a second-round pick. A day later, the No. 33 overall selection Carson Schwesinger signed a fully guaranteed contract of his own with the Cleveland Browns.

At that point, the second-round deals came to a screeching halt.

Instead of a wave of contract announcements, it's been radio silence. That's likely because there's an ongoing standoff between second-rounders hoping for a full guarantee of their own and teams hoping to avoid setting a precedent.

The total for Savaiinaea's contract is already pre-determined by his draft position as the No. 37 overall pick. He'll receive a four-year deal worth a little more than $11.3 million. But how much of that will be guaranteed remains to be seen.
The No. 37 overall pick in 2024, New England Patriots wide receiver Ja'Lynn Polk, signed a four-year, $9.7 million deal with $8.2 million guaranteed. Dolphins offensive tackle Patrick Paul, who was taken 18 spots later, had $4.2 million of his $6.9 million contract guaranteed.

There's still a couple months until teams report to training camp, which means there's plenty of time for the dominoes to start falling in time for the standoff to end without holdouts. For now, though, it's wait and see.

MSN

My attitude is:
No show means no go!

 

[coalesce]

So for once, it’s not Grier’s fault.

 

[DrMultimedia]

As a player I would certainly try for a guaranteed money. Careers can be short due for many reasons including not being good despite your second round pick status, injury, other health issues, etc.

Get the money while you can. As an owner I prefer the produce on the field and you'll get your money.

I'm willing to bet the next CBA will be a rather long negotiation.

 

[67Stang]

As a player I would certainly try for a guaranteed money. Careers can be short due for many reasons including not being good despite your second round pick status, injury, other health issues, etc.

Get the money while you can. As an owner I prefer the produce on the field and you'll get your money.

I'm willing to bet the next CBA will be a rather long negotiation.

Yes, as a player.....but as a business and a league, hell no! It's not like they are paying them minimum wage. They will get a new contract if they are worth a crap anyways before that contract expires. I hope the owners stand firm on this one, and I hope Houston's owner is getting his ass handed to him.

 

[Golphindolphin]

So for once, it’s not Grier’s fault.

Grier gets universally shat upon for "giving out contracts" and "screwing up the cap" when in fact Brandon Shore is the lead negotiator on all contracts and is responsible for salary cap management. Since the amount of the contract for Jonah ( and all drafted players) is predetermined ( 4 yrs. $11,310,028 with preset annual salaries) I would venture that Grier actually has no input on this or any draft pick signing. The UDFA's I would imagine Grier and McDaniel have way more input due to the smaller amounts of any contracts and/or how desirable the individual UDFA's are, but at the end of the day Shore is negotiating actual terms and how an individual contract will fit under the cap. As for free agents, past experience certainly has shown McDaniel and/or Grier have had the ability to "pound the table", but it certainly appears , at least for 2025, that may not necessarily be the case going forward. Bio for Shore and link to rookie contract slotting below-

https://www.miamidolphins.com/team/front-office-roster/brandon-shore

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/cba/rookie-scale

 

[Fin-Loco]

Here's why Dolphins second-round pick Jonah Savaiinaea still hasn't signed​

Hours ahead of the start of rookie minicamp earlier in May, the Miami Dolphins announced that seven of their eight 2025 NFL draft picks signed their rookie contracts. The sole exception, second-rounder Jonah Savaiinaea, still participated in the camp, but remains unsigned more than a couple weeks later.

So what's the hold up?

It isn't just Savaiinaea. While over 200 of the 257 players selected in the 2025 NFL draft have signed contracts, almost every second-round pick remains unsigned. That's probably due to the deal No. 34 overall pick Jayden Higgins got from the Houston Texans.

On May 8, Higgins signed a fully guaranteed four-year, $11.7 million deal with the Texans -- the first of its kind for a second-round pick. A day later, the No. 33 overall selection Carson Schwesinger signed a fully guaranteed contract of his own with the Cleveland Browns.

At that point, the second-round deals came to a screeching halt.

Instead of a wave of contract announcements, it's been radio silence. That's likely because there's an ongoing standoff between second-rounders hoping for a full guarantee of their own and teams hoping to avoid setting a precedent.

The total for Savaiinaea's contract is already pre-determined by his draft position as the No. 37 overall pick. He'll receive a four-year deal worth a little more than $11.3 million. But how much of that will be guaranteed remains to be seen.
The No. 37 overall pick in 2024, New England Patriots wide receiver Ja'Lynn Polk, signed a four-year, $9.7 million deal with $8.2 million guaranteed. Dolphins offensive tackle Patrick Paul, who was taken 18 spots later, had $4.2 million of his $6.9 million contract guaranteed.

There's still a couple months until teams report to training camp, which means there's plenty of time for the dominoes to start falling in time for the standoff to end without holdouts. For now, though, it's wait and see.

MSN

This is true. Houston stupidly giving Higgins a fully guaranteed contract was idiocy and now will be the expectation of the rest of the second round. I would expect this to be exacerbated next year with the first rounders expecting the same. This is going to prove to be a serious issue.

 

[ThePeopleShow13]

First-round picks are always fully guaranteed with a fifth-year option. That's part of the current CBA.

It is not part of the current CBA. It’s just the way the NFL has moved in the past few years. Moreover, the Texans signed their 2nd round pick to a fully guaranteed contract so I expect more to demand it. Pretty much the reason so many are not signed yet.

 

[danmarino7051]

Grier gets universally shat upon for "giving out contracts" and "screwing up the cap" when in fact Brandon Shore is the lead negotiator on all contracts and is responsible for salary cap management. Since the amount of the contract for Jonah ( and all drafted players) is predetermined ( 4 yrs. $11,310,028 with preset annual salaries) I would venture that Grier actually has no input on this or any draft pick signing. The UDFA's I would imagine Grier and McDaniel have way more input due to the smaller amounts of any contracts and/or how desirable the individual UDFA's are, but at the end of the day Shore is negotiating actual terms and how an individual contract will fit under the cap. As for free agents, past experience certainly has shown McDaniel and/or Grier have had the ability to "pound the table", but it certainly appears , at least for 2025, that may not necessarily be the case going forward. Bio for Shore and link to rookie contact slotting below-

https://www.miamidolphins.com/team/front-office-roster/brandon-shore

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/cba/rookie-scale

I’ve tried to explain this before to no avail. People just hate Grier and will blame him for everything.

OTOH, Shore has done a very good job about keeping the Dolphins competitive with enough cap room. Every offseason we hear that the Dolphins are doomed and have no cap space, only to see their cap become large enough to sign just about anyone that is available and whomever they may want. Then the following offseason the worry starts again. I, for one, don’t really look at the cap anymore. It’s fake. All teams carry dead cap and all teams have players on contract that don’t seem to play up to the amount they’re getting paid. It’s just part of the gamble.