257 total players were picked in the NFL Draft seven weeks ago. To date, 217 of them have signed contracts. Of the 40 players who currently remain unsigned, a surprising 30 of them come from the draft's second round.
The issue appears to be the contracts of the two players from the round who have signed. Cleveland Browns linebacker Carson Schwesinger and Houston Texans wide receiver Jayden Higgins both signed fully guaranteed contracts, an unprecedented development for athletes taken on the draft's second day.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Green Bay Packers alumni welcome fans to the 2025 NFL Draft before the first round on Thursday, April 24, 2025, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Green Bay Packers alumni welcome fans to the 2025 NFL Draft before the first round on Thursday, April 24, 2025, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
© Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Fully guaranteed contracts are an issue that the league has been grappling with in recent years. Unlike their counterparts in Major League Baseball, most NFL contracts are not guaranteed. The Cleveland Browns angered many within the league when they fully guaranteed the nearly quarter-billion-dollar contract of quarterback Deshaun Watson in 2022, effectively kicking open a door that many within NFL circles had hoped to keep closed. Since then, guarantees have become more common, though usually for the league's top talent.
It is ironic that the Browns and the Houston Texans have now expanded the contract guarantee issue, as it was their trade that led to the Watson contract. It was Houston who signed Higgins to the first-ever fully guaranteed contract for a second-round draft pick last month. Just days later, Cleveland announced the same guarantee for Schwesinger. Both contracts total a little over $11 million over four years.
Those guarantees appear to be holding up the contracts of the remaining 30 players in the round. League observers will be watching this one closely to see how deep the guaranteed contracts extend into the round.
The second-round picks total 75% of the remaining unsigned players from the 2025 NFL Draft. Of the 10 others who remain, four are first-round picks, and six fourth-rounders remain unsigned.