~70% Of NFL Draft Picks Remain Unsigned

As shown in PFR’s 2020 NFL Draft Tracker, and noted by Albert Breer of The MMQB, only about 30% of the league’s 255 draft picks have signed their contracts. By our count, 61 rookies have inked their deals vs. 194 stragglers. 

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Breer notes that by June 12th of 2019, 222 of last year’s rookies had signed, including 22 first-round picks under contract. As of this morning (June 15th, 2020), there only two first-round picks officially in the fold – Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and Panthers defensive lineman Derrick Brown.

The heavy paperwork is likely to drag into July. The league opted against in-person minicamps this month, which means that rookies won’t be able to take physicals with team doctors until training camp. Getting paid is a matter of when, not if, but it’s probably a pain point for many rookies who are waiting for the signing bonus to hit their bank account.

League revenue flow is another complication – at least, when it comes to first-round picks. Joe Burrow recently indicated that it could take months for his deal to be finalized; the Bengals are probably taking it slow before the quarterback his $24MM bonus. Meanwhile, first-round picks are not expected to put up a fight over offsets, so that should be one less barrier towards signing.

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