Matt Barrows tweeted a few minutes ago that the 49ers completed the contract of third round pick Chris Culliver and also Ronald Johnson. He is the third draft pick to sign his rookie contract. Training camp starts this morning, which means we'll likely see most if not all the draft picks get signed in the coming hours. As per MM, the rookie wage scale for Culliver sets in as follows:
Chris Culliver
First-year allocation: 524,719
Total four-year allocation: 2,885,953
First-year minimum allotment: 503,750
Note: Last season the Denver Broncos awarded center J.D. Walton, the 80th overall pick, a four-year contract worth $2.588 million with a $798,500 signing bonus.Ronald Johnson
First-year allocation: 401,055
Total four-year allocation: 2,205,803
First-year minimum allotment: 397,059
As you can see, while first round picks saw decreases in their contracts this year with the new scale, Culliver actually will make more than his 2010 counterpart. Since there is also a Proven Performance Escalator clause based on playing time, it could go up even further. The new rookie scale was meant more for bringing down the excesses as oppose to trying to flatten rookie wages across the board and this would appear to show that.
Culliver was a safety up until his senior season before converting to cornerback after his position coach thought he could do a solid job in more press coverage. He'll find himself right in the thick of the nickel back battle with Tarell Brown and Phillip Adams.
Ronald Johnson will find himself battling for third and fourth receiver snaps with Kyle Williams, Dominique Zeigler and Ted Ginn.
Here are some prior links on both guys:
Culliver
Tre's Thoughts
49ers Draft Pick Chris Culliver: Versatility at the cornerback position
49ers Draft Pick Chris Culliver Projections: Putting It All Together
Best Case/Worst Case Scenarios
CB Coach Lorenzo Ward on Culliver
Johnson
Slot WR: Johnson vs. Williams vs. Ginn
Ronald Johnson: Have You Seen My Football?
Ronald Johnson Projections
Battling For The Slot Position?