Heading into Thursday and less than a week removed from the start of training camp a new, and potentially dramatic, problem has emerged for the NFL.
That problem is the contract demands of second-round draft selections, 30 of 32 had yet to sign their deals and the only two who had -- Texans WR Jayden Higgins and Browns LB Carson Schwesinger -- inking the first-ever fully guaranteed contracts for picks in that range. Chargers WR Tre Harris became the first of those players to technically become a holdout, with L.A. breaking camp early before they participate in the Hall of Fame game.
"If I asked the other 30 general managers, they would probably want to hire [The Godfather] Vito Corleone and get him to deal with this with Houston and Cleveland," said attorney and former NFL agent Doug Sunseri on WWL this week, "but this is, I think, about whoever is going to blink first."
Listen to the full interview with Doug Sunseri in the player above. Can't see the embed? Click here.
Delayed deals for second-round picks are not a new phenomenon, and several of the Saints recent second-round selections have remained unsigned until they reported for camp. Still, New Orleans finds itself in something of an awkward scenario regarding No. 40 overall selection Tyler Shough, who will be in a full-blown competition for the starting job if and when he arrives for training camp.
Shough is the only quarterback among the unsigned 2nd round selections. The value of his contract is slotted and will be valued at $10.79 million regardless of the total guarantee.
"The Saints are in a very unique situation because they don’t have a quarterback with any type of experience and it is paramount to get as many reps for Shough," Sunseri said, "and also it’s part of their marketing campaign, we have a new quarterback, we have a new start and he’s going to sit out or hold out waiting for a 4-year, guaranteed contract."
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In other words, it's a bit of a standoff. Teams don't want to set a precedent that second-rounders will be getting fully guaranteed deals, something that would likely create a slope that kept rolling to later picks. Meanwhile the players, and more specifically their agents, will be looking to capitalize on a clear opportunity.
So what's the solution for the Saints? It's likely a creative one, as Sunseri explains.
"If I was the Saints … I’d say make it a guaranteed contract without calling it a guaranteed contract," Sunseri said.
A potential example of that would be guaranteeing a certain percentage of the contract, likely the first three seasons, while creating a trigger within the deal to guarantee the final season if a certain statistical threshold is reached. That type of language is ubiquitous in modern NFL contracts, often attached to specific bonuses.
"In that case what you could say is: hey, the contract is not guaranteed, wink-wink, for 4 years, but the threshold to get that 4th year guaranteed might be very low, so what I see what a team like the Saints would do is they would probably say, hey, look, we don’t want to set a precedent here," Sunseri continued. "We’re gonna call it a 3-year, but it’s probably gonna operate like a 4-year, and that’s what I would see would be the possible compromise for the agent who wants a 4-year guarantee and for the team who wants to save face and say no, we don’t give out 4-year, guaranteed contracts for second-round picks."
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For the Saints, waiting could be the most helpful play. If teams come to non-guaranteed deals with picks ahead of No. 40 during the intervening days, the conversation becomes a lot more straightforward. One deal has already landed in the form of No. 59 overall selection Mike Green and the Ravens, according to reports, though the complete structure is yet to be reported.
To Shough's credit there has been no drama associated with the contract to this point. He's participated fully in every offseason program as well as events around Louisiana and throwing sessions with teammates during the down period. All that's left to do is wait and see how the contract debate plays out.
“I think it’s going to go down to the wire and when it gets down to the wire there’s both considerations on both sides to get him into camp on time. ... When the dominos fall, they will fall quickly."