NFL second-round rookies finally starting to sign: What took so long and what it means for future contracts

After two months of no signings with 30 of the 32 second-round draft picks from this year, a breakthrough occurred in the Bay Area on Wednesday night as 49ers defensive lineman Alfred Collins agreed to his rookie deal.

The amount of guaranteed money in the second-round deals has been at issue ever since the Texans signed Jayden Higgins, the second pick of the round, to the first-ever fully guaranteed contract for a second-rounder in May. A standoff across the league ensued, and Collins and the Niners shot first this week.

Collins will now have 88% of his four-year rookie contract guaranteed, a full 10 percentage points higher than the player picked in his same slot (No. 43) last year. That 88% now sets a theoretical ceiling for second-rounders selected below him, and a floor for those above him.

Though Collins was the 11th selection of the second round, the percentage of guaranteed money in his deal is equivalent to the third pick of the second round in the 2024 NFL Draft. It’s the sort of jump that surely has the NFL Players Association enthused, and it should grease the skids for the majority of second-rounders to sign their deals ahead of the start of training camps. Since Wednesday night, Shemar Turner, the 30th pick of the second round and 62nd overall, has agreed to his deal.

This entire ordeal is really about two things. The first is setting precedents. NFL players won’t be able to collectively bargain fully guaranteed contracts, so they have to come through established precedents. Whether they’re veteran deals like Kirk Cousins or Deshaun Watson, or rookie deals like Higgins, the players cannot afford to lose momentum at the negotiating table.

The second is about recruiting. With standard rookie contracts, there isn’t much to negotiate in these deals. So agents have to find their wins with current players to help them recruit future clients.

“It’s really more about optics for the agents and agencies than the individual players,” said one team executive.

I spoke this week with longtime NFLPA certified agent Paul DeRousselle. He negotiated Jeffery Simmons’ massive four-year, $94 million contract two years ago, and last year he negotiated Keon Coleman’s rookie deal as the top pick of the second round. And DeRousselle always keeps it real.

“As agents, you don’t want to be that agent who your guy gets 68 percent, and then the player who went [a pick before] gets 78 percent,” DeRousselle says. “Other agents are going to use that against you. You don’t want to be that guy, so everybody is looking over their shoulder.”

It was just five years ago that second-round picks didn’t even have any of the third year of their contracts guaranteed. Seven of the 2023 second-rounders had their entire third years guaranteed along with a portion of their fourth. The following season, that number went to 11.

Players, agents and the union want to gain each year, and you always must look at who is directly above and below you to help find a gauge. When the Bills took Coleman with the top pick of the second round in 2024, the Chargers followed by taking Ladd McConkey.

In 2023, the first pick of the second round had 93.6% of his deal guaranteed while the second pick had 91.5%. DeRousselle knew he had to build off that 93.6 percentage, but his floor was unlikely to be helped below him.

“I knew the Chargers historically were not going to make a big move,” DeRousselle said, “so I couldn’t overplay my hand thinking the Chargers were going to jump to something crazy that would benefit me. I knew that they weren’t going to help my position at all.”

Ultimately, Coleman and the Bills agreed to a deal that guaranteed 95.7% of his deal, raising the bar two percentage points and leaving about $400,000 of a $10 million deal unguaranteed. But if Coleman is the player the Bills thought he would be a few years down the road, he will make that money easily.

Texans general manager Nick Caserio has disrupted the natural order of things around the league a few times in his Houston tenure. Three years ago, Caserio gave fourth-round running back Dameon Pierce an extra $25,000 that wound up creating a logjam with his fellow fourth-rounders. He also fully guaranteed the third year of Jalen Pitre’s rookie contract, unheard of for the fifth pick in the second round at that time.

Just this spring, Caserio reset two different positional markets, first with Danielle Hunter and then with Derek Stingley Jr., paying the cornerback $5 million more in average annual salary than the previous high.

Caserio clearly decided haggling over a couple hundred thousand dollars four years down the road wasn’t worth it with Higgins. The league was creeping that way anyway, and Caserio saved himself time and energy. It forced Cleveland’s hand at No. 33 to sign linebacker Carson Schwesinger one day later with a similar fully guaranteed deal.

In theory, it will be easier for the players below Collins to get signed sooner than the players above him. The 88% ceiling Collins set at No. 43 represents a larger jump than any second-rounder made last year, so players 44th and below assumedly can fall in line in quick order.

The picks after Higgins and before Collins will be the new challenge. How many of those players can get fully guaranteed deals and maintain the momentum at the top of the second round? When does the chain break, and who breaks it first?

Seahawks safety Nick Emmanwori is the highest second-rounder not signed at No. 35. His agent will certainly angle for 100% guarantees. In fact, picks 35, 36 and 37 are all represented by the agency, Athletes First.

Potentially complicating matters is the 36th overall pick. The Cleveland Browns selected running back Quinshon Judkins there, and over the weekend Judkins was arrested on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge. The arrest extends the window the Browns would sign Judkins, which means players selected around him may move forward with their business rather than waiting on his situation to be resolved, however it ultimately is.

At No. 40 is Saints quarterback Tyler Shough, who could very well be the Week 1 starter in New Orleans. Shough is reportedly seeking a fully guaranteed deal despite being the eighth player taken in the second round. Last year’s eighth pick of the second round (Cooper DeJean) got 80.5% of his deal guaranteed, but there’s always a quarterback premium.

One the biggest jumps in guaranteed dollars for a second-rounder came after the Titans took Will Levis with the second pick of the 2023 second round. He got 11 percentage points more on his deal than the previous year’s second pick, in large part because of the position he plays. Joey Porter Jr., picked one slot ahead of Levis, waited until after Levis signed to set his own floor and enjoyed a similar jump from the previous year.

The Saints report to training camp Tuesday, so the clock is ticking — just as it is across the league for the rest of these rookies. Shough plans to battle Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener for QB1, and every practice rep will matter for the rookie. If the Saints don’t budge on the fully guaranteed deal, is Shough willing to miss out on valuable practice time?

On the other hand, if Shough isn’t budging on his wishes, are the Saints willing to have their potential Week 1 starter sit out the beginning of camp? After a difficult 2024 campaign and the retirement of Derek Carr, can the Saints afford to do that?

In a few years, it’s probable that all second-round picks will have their contracts fully guaranteed. For now, Collins has set the floor for the top picks of that round. Will they wait on Emmanwori at No. 35, or for Shough at No. 40?

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Author: Jonathan Jones
July 17, 2025 | 1:26 pm