The NFL is into the dead period of the offseason, but there is still a little bit of news trickling out. Most recently, the Denver Broncos agreed to terms with their first round pick, defensive end Bradley Chubb. He signed his rookie contract on June 21st, making him the highest pick (No. 5) to sign his deal. Previously, Indianapolis Colts offensive guard Quenton Nelson at No. 6 was the highest pick to sign.
Among the top nine picks, Nelson and Chubb are the only two picks to sign thus far. The San Francisco 49ers are still working on signing ninth overall pick Mike McGlinchey, but they are also still working on signing second round pick Dante Pettis. They’ve signed the remainder of their draft class.
There are 22 total unsigned draft picks across the league, with 14 of them first round picks. The NFL CBA negotiated in 2011 includes a rookie wage scale that has significantly cut down on rookie contract delays. However, there are still several reasons for a player to take time to get his deal done.
The team might want certain offsets or could be looking to defer paying signing bonus money. A combination of these two led to Joey Bosa’s holdout in 2016. For picks at the end of the first round there can be issues related to what will be fully guaranteed in the contract. And when you get past the first round and the fully guaranteed deals, players will want to find any opportunity to boost their earning potential.
It is worth noting that McGlinchey and Pettis are both represented by CAA Sports. Last year, Solomon Thomas, also represented by CAA, signed on July 28th. Tom Condon represents McGlinchey, with Jimmy Sexton apparently assisting. Meanwhile, Sexton represents Pettis, with Patrick Collins assisting.
I’m guessing we see McGlinchey and Pettis sign at or near the same time shortly before training camp. It is possible they miss the very beginning of the first practice, but given the 49ers history both with the current regime, and with Paraag Marathe’s work on contracts, I don’t think this turns into more of a thing.