Only three players from the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft have signed their contracts. The current standoff could have a significant impact on how teams across the NFL will structure guarantees in the future.
Good morning, Broncos Country.
On Tuesday evening, the Denver Broncos announced the signing of first round draft pick Jahdae Barron. Right in the nick of time before the team kicked off their training camp sessions yesterday with rookies officially reporting.
According to Ari Meirov, the delay with Barron’s contract came down to when and how much of his signing bonus would be paid out. Meirov went on to state that Barron will receive the entirety of his signing bonus immediately, as opposed to delayed or staggered through the course of his rookie deal. That’s a big win for Barron, who gets nearly $10 million dollars up front. That is something you usually only see happen with high-profile quarterbacks or very early picks taken early on in the draft.
That means RJ Harvey, the Broncos’ second round selection in the 2025 NFL Draft, is the only player left from their draft class that remains unsigned. The Houston Texans and Cleveland Browns gave fully guaranteed contracts to second round picks Jayden Higgins and Carson Schwesinger—a first in National Football League history. It’s not precedent yet, but it surely is sparking a potential change in the landscape of how teams will approach guarantees with second round picks now and in future years.
While it’s unlikely that all of them will receive full guarantees this go around, it appears a seismic change could be unfolding. According to a former agent, some of the logjam can also be attributed to the New Orleans Saints and their second-round pick Tyler Shough, who appears to be wanting a fully guaranteed deal. With that in mind, I wouldn’t expect players who were taken before him to budge until he comes to terms.
My guess is that we will continue to see modest increases in guarantees for the mid-to-late second-round picks. I’d expect movement there before anywhere else. As I’m writing, Adam Schefter just dropped a big nugget of news related to this.
The next big domino in the second round has fallen: 49ers’ second-round pick Alfred Collins, the No. 43rd overall selection, reached agreement tonight on a four-year, $10.3 million deal that includes over $9 million guaranteed and now is expected to trigger multiple second-round… pic.twitter.com/iiIWgOCh7p
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 17, 2025
Alfred Collins’ $9 million dollar guarantee is an increase of over $2 million dollars from last year. Overall, it’s above a 25-percent jump from the guarantees in Max Melton’s contract. Melton was the 43rd pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. That makes 87-percent of Collins’ rookie contract guaranteed. While not fully guaranteed, that’s far higher than a modest jump I expected. I’m interested to see how this all plays out. I believe true potential exists for this year’s Top 40 to all wind up getting their contracts fully guaranteed because of Shough’s situation with the Saints.
All in all, I can’t blame Harvey or any other players and agents representing them for wanting to construct deals that get the most money guaranteed. Though I’m hoping agreements can be reached for the other thirty unsigned players so they can get to camp and continue their NFL journeys without suffering significant setbacks.
What do you think, Broncos Country? What’s your take on this unique situation? Let me know in the comments section.
As always, thank you for reading. Here is today’s slate of articles for Horse Tracks.
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