The Pittsburgh Steelers were busy at the negotiating table the past two days as they signed both their top draft pick T.J. Watt and third round cornerback Cameron Sutton to their rookie contracts.
As most know, under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) each draft pick is slotted with an entry level contract price for their specific draft round. The signing bonus is still negotiable, but that is about it in today’s NFL.
Long gone are the rookie hold outs as they waited for the huge pay day before even playing a snap as a professional football player.
So, with that said, it is time to take a look at the signing bonuses for the last two rookies who signed their new contracts.
T.J. Watt
Steelers first-rounder T.J. Watt deal: $9.258 million,$7.933 million guaranteed, $4.873 million signing bonus
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) June 15, 2017
Cameron Sutton
Steelers' deal for third-rounder Cameron Sutton: $3.217 million, including $736,128 signing bonus
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) June 15, 2017
Quite the difference when looking at signing bonuses between a first and third round player. Watt’s $4.8 million is a tremendous number for a rookie, and the Steelers are hoping he is worth every penny from Day 1.