The Houston Texans were the first team to ink a rookie contract with a second-round selection from the 2025 class, signing the 34th overall pick to a fully guaranteed four-year, $11.7 million rookie deal.
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Higgins’ deal communicated the excitement and faith the Texans front office has in him—in historic proportions. Signed on May 8, his contract marked the first fully guaranteed rookie deal for a second rounder in NFL history.
Traditionally, only first-round contracts have been fully guaranteed, but Texans general manager Nick Caserio set a new negotiating milestone with this deal for Higgins.
The reaction from the rest of the league has been nothing short of seismic.
One day after the Higgins deal, the Cleveland Browns followed suit, signing 33rd overall pick Carson Schwesinger to a fully guaranteed deal of his own on May 9.
In the two months sense, none of the other second-round picks have signed.
The two deals have reshaped expectations for contract negotiations around the league. As a result of the 2011 Collective Bargaining Agreement—which capped rookie salaries and standardized the four-year contract length—rookie deals have been somewhat uniform over the past decade, with agents have had very few factors up for negotiation.
Higgins deal turned that leverage up to 10, by creating a new precedent. Now, the agents representing the remaining unsigned second rounders have a point of reference, believing their clients deserve fully guaranteed deals as well.
Across the league, the owners and the players appear to be at an impasse. With deadlines to report to training camp approaching, players now must decide whether to report to camp or take a stand.
One such player was faced with that predicament and chose to hold out:
The deadline for #Chargers rookies to report is upon us and second round WR Tre Harris is officially a holdout, sources say.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 12, 2025
With 30 of the 32 second-round picks unsigned because of a disagreement over guaranteed money, Harris makes the first official stand. pic.twitter.com/Z2PU9p0wEc
