The New England Patriots were the latest franchise to succumb to the NFL’s newest trend. It was announced Friday evening that the team has agreed to four-year, 11.14 million dollar deal with rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson. Every cent of the second round rookie’s deal will be fully guaranteed.
This is a brand new NFL trend that has emerged this offseason. It used to be that only the first 32 players off the board received guaranteed contracts. The NFL has a bunch of special rules for first round draft picks, and this was just another one.
However, the Cleveland Browns likely didn’t expect this to happen when they agreed to give the first selection of the second round, Carson Schwesinger a fully guaranteed deal.
The Browns justification for handing out the generous deal to the second rounder was that they would have selected him in the first if they had the opportunity. This makes sense enough. However, the consequences of that deal have been felt by all 31 other teams.
Up until yesterday, nearly all second round rookies in the NFL remained unsigned. It seems that every agent in the league was pointing to this deal as a bench mark for what their client deserves. Yesterday, Henderson became the final signing of the evening on a day that saw 18 players agree to terms.
Not all players were as lucky as Henderson, however. TreVeyon became just the fifth player from the second round to get his money fully guaranteed. As far as I can tell, he is the first second round rookie in the modern era of the NFLPA that the New England Patriots have awarded a fully guaranteed deal.
TreVeyon Henderson Becomes 18th Rookie To Sign Friday
It is unclear what the tipping point was for these 18 franchises, but second round rookies had been involved in a three month stand still with the teams that selected them back in April. Many of the rookies were reporting to camp, participating in optional workouts, and doing all team activities despite not having a contract.
Only the players selected at the top of the round received this fully guaranteed caveat.
“Henderson became the 18th second-round pick to agree to terms on a contract across the two-day stretch, and the fifth to get his money fully guaranteed,” wrote Keagan Stiefel for NESN. “Cleveland Browns linebacker Carson Schwesinger, Houston Texans wide receiver Jayden Higgins, Seattle Seahawks safety Nick Emmanwori and Miami Dolphins guard Jonah Savaiinaea — four of the five picks made before him — are the others.”
Expect More Of The Same In The Future
With more of the power constantly going to the player, there is no reason to believe that this trend won’t continue. As writer Brock Vierra points out, college players aren’t broke anymore. No longer is the decision to go to the NFL based on supporting a family.
For players like Quinn Ewers, there is legitimate questions over whether or not he would have made more money by returning to college instead of entering the draft. This gives players selected in this range more leverage in contract debates.
All Patriots fans can hope for as that the investment in the already fan favorite running back will pay off.
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