Nearly a week before OTAs began, the Pittsburgh Steelers locked up their entire rookie class. Under CBA rules with its rookie slotting, it’s far less of a headline than it used to be. Holdouts are no more and virtually every rookie is signed before reporting to training camp. To date, 22 of the 32 first-round picks have inked their rookie deals. That includes Steelers’ first-round pick DL Derrick Harmon, who signed his four-year contract (with a fifth-year option) on May 22.
If that feels early for a Steelers’ rookie, it’s because it is. Since the 2011 CBA that created the rookie guardrails still followed today, Harmon’s deal is the third-earliest the Steelers reached with a first-round rookie contract.
Below is a chart of each first-round selection 2011-2025 and the date their rookie contracts were inked and announced.
Player/Year Date Signed
Derrick Harmon (2025) May 22
Troy Fautanu (2024) June 3
Broderick Jones (2023) June 23
Kenny Pickett (2022) June 23
Najee Harris (2021) May 25
Devin Bush (2019) May 12
Terrell Edmunds (2018) July 24
T.J. Watt (2017) June 14
Artie Burns (2016) June 8
Bud Dupree (2015) May 14
Ryan Shazier (2014) June 5
Jarvis Jones (2013) June 3
David DeCastro (2012) July 23
Cam Heyward (2011)* July 29
*The 2011 CBA was agreed to on July 25, 2011, allowing rookies to sign.
Only 2014’s Bud Dupree, who signed on May 14, and 2019’s Devin Bush, inked May 12, signed sooner than Harmon’s deal. Harmon signed more than a week earlier than Fautanu did last year and nearly a month quicker than Broderick Jones in 2023 and Kenny Pickett in 2022.
As we wrote about days before Harmon’s deal was done, there’s a domino effect that accelerates signings. As rookies drafted around him, a little earlier, a little later, inked their deals, the roadmap to Harmon’s contract with Pittsburgh was set. There’s little to haggle about in rookie deals this days anyway, even for a first-rounder. All contracts are fully guaranteed at signing, leaving the agent and the team to discuss minor details like offset language and signing bonus payout schedule.
Admittedly, it’s far from the most interesting topic. Whether Derrick Harmon signed his contract May 22, June 22, or even July 22, so long as deals are done before training camp, they’re hardly stories. Procedural more than anything else. But Harmon’s deal got done in quick fashion. Hopefully, his NFL impact will happen just as soon.
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