The Dolphins have agreed to terms on a 100% fully guaranteed rookie contract with second-round offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.
The deal makes Savaiinaea the first No. 37 pick and the fifth second-round pick to receive a fully guaranteed contract in league history. He received significant increases over the guarantees of 2024 No. 37 pick Ja’Lynn Polk, who had 30% of his Year 4 salary and 84.7% of his total deal guaranteed, per OverTheCap. Savaiinaea received 15.3% more guaranteed money overall with a massive 70% increase in Year 4 guaranteed salary.
Savaiinaea did not report with the rest of the Miami’s rookie class on July 15 as one of several second-round picks holding out for fully guarantee rookie contracts after the Texans set new precedent with No. 34 pick Jayden Higgins. No. 35 pick Nick Emmanwori signed a fully guaranteed deal with the Seahawks on Thursday, giving Savaiinaea leverage to demand similar terms. Savaiinaea is also projected to replace Liam Eichenberg as the Dolphins’ starting right guard after they traded up for him in April’s draft, so it was important to get him on the field to build chemistry with his new teammates.
By giving in to Savaiinaea’s demands, the Dolphins will continue the domino effect of second-round pick signings. No. 39 pick Luther Burden signed a fully guaranteed contract with the Bears shortly after Savaiinaea put pen to paper, which should lock No. 38 pick TreVeyon Henderson into a similar deal with the Patriots. Saints rookie quarterback and No. 40 pick Tyler Shough should also be able to secure the fully guaranteed deal that he has been pursuing.
Normally, Savaiinaea’s signing would also ensure that the pick before him gets a fully guaranteed deal. However, No. 36 pick Quinshon Judkins remains unsigned as he faces a charge of misdemeanor battery after a domestic incident in Florida. The Browns are in no rush to sign him to his rookie deal, per Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot, as the team wants their second-round pick’s focus to remain on his legal issues.
I’m glad to see these guys getting more guaranteed money — at least upon their rookie deals. I’m not sure if I’d like to see as much guaranteed to the vets that already make some huge AAV marks.
My only hesitation with guaranteeing everything for vets is wondering how much it would impact free agency and teams’ salary cap management.
I feel like players deserve to get paid. But the full guarantee for such large amounts for x amount of years can really hinder a franchise if things go wrong.
But anyway, glad to see more rookies getting larger guaranteed amounts on that rookie deals.
Ya it’s a hard balance for vets. I feel if deals got fully guaranteed for vets, teams would sign them to shorter deals for less risk. Which would be a win-win for players and team —— guaranteed salary and back to the market quicker for players, same risk for teams as they already only guarantee 2-3 years anyways!
The contracts are so, so small compared to bet contracts, though. Savaiinaea is getting less for four years than Trey Smith gets for half a season. And that’s a high second round pick at a position where salaries don’t get THAT high. Tre Harris is getting less for four years than Dyami Brown or Tutu Atwell are guaranteed for this year alone. The difference of a couple million guaranteed over four years isn’t that big a deal when it comes to budgeting.