Rookie contracts have been much simpler since 2011, when the CBA established a rookie-wage scale based on where the player got drafted. These days, players seldom miss training camp time without a deal in place — Joey Bosa with the San Diego Chargers in 2016 was an exception.

Yet, from time to time a player takes more time to reach a deal. Even though there is less room for negotiations in this era, minor details of the contracts are still up for debate, and it matters more for some players than it does for others.

This year, the Green Bay Packers have already signed 10 of their 11 draft picks — the most recent one is second-round safety Javon Bullard. The only remaining unsigned pick is exactly first-round offensive lineman Jordan Morgan, the 25th overall pick.

How it works

Since 2011, there has been an established contract structure based on where the players get drafted. It goes up every year, following the salary cap increase in the league. These are all four-year deals, and teams have a fifth-year option over first-round picks.

The four-year contracts have a floor and a ceiling for salary and signing bonus (and those numbers are fairly close), so negotiations are calm in this area.

The fifth-year option is non-negotiable, and teams exercise it or not at the end of the third season of the player's career — since the 2020 CBA, though, it is fully guaranteed as soon as it's exercised. Previously, it was only guaranteed for injury.

Players taken from the second through the seventh rounds are eligible to get a raise in the fourth year based on playing time and Pro Bowl selections — Over the Cap has the details if you want to go further into that.

But for the most part, deals are fairly standardized.

What's up?

If that's the case, why hasn't Jordan Morgan signed his contract with the Packers yet? That usually happens for two reasons. The first and most frequent is the signing bonus flow. In the NFL, the players receive a certain amount of money to sign the deal, but it's not necessarily paid at the moment of the signing.

So, the payment schedule of the bonus is a huge topic of conversation between teams and players. This is more extreme because the signing bonus is a huge tool for teams to spread the cap hit through the four years of the deal, so a large portion of the contract is a signing bonus. Therefore, the cash flow is extremely relevant for players.

The second topic open for negotiation is the language of voiding salary guarantees. Teams might want to include offsets and voids if a player gets suspended for a certain amount of games or does something detrimental to the franchise. The topics that pull the trigger on the offsets and voids are up to discussion.

Clusters

A few years ago, most of the last players to sign their rookie contracts were third-rounders, because they were trying to extend the guarantees into year 3. In 2023, the last two players signed by the Packers were both second-rounders, Luke Musgrave and Jayden Reed.

That happens because, as the system is scaled, a player's contract directly affects the other rookies around him.

This year, the top of the draft seems to be in contention. Only 14 of the 32 first-round picks have already signed their deals. And all players between the 21st and the 26th overall picks are yet to be signed.

The Packers more or less know the structure of the deal. The 20th overall pick Troy Fautanu signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers on a 4-year, $15.1 million deal, with $7.8 million in signing bonus. Meanwhile, 27th overall pick Darius Robinson reached a four-year, $13.8 million, with $6.9 million in signing bonus with the Arizona Cardinals.

According to Spotrac, Jordan Morgan is expected to sign for $14.03 million, with a $7.03 million signing bonus. It can't be much different than that. Now, it's just a matter of when the signing bonus will get paid, and for the fans it doesn't have any impact.

There is still plenty of time to get a deal done before training camp, and it likely will.

Understanding the basics of NFL Free Agency

A handy guide that can help you navigate the complicated world of free agency.