According to Aaron Wilson of Houston KPRC, the Kansas City Chiefs agreed on the terms Tuesday with cornerback Kamal Hadden, the team’s sixth-round pick (211th overall) in last month’s NFL Draft.
#Bosses signed sixth-round cornerback Kamal Hadden: $4.158 million, including $138,388 signing bonus
—Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) May 14, 2024
According to Wilson, Hadden’s four-year contract has a total value of $4.158 million and includes a signing bonus of $138,388. We can infer that the former Tennessee Volunteer will receive the following minimum base salaries: $795,000 in 2024, $960,000 in 2025, $1,075,000 in 2026, and $1,190,000 in 2027.
Assuming Hadden makes this year’s Chiefs team, his cap hit will be $829,597, well below the threshold for the team’s top 51 numbers that count for the offseason. Hadden’s number will remain outside that range until the end of training camp, when all 53 active roster salaries, plus practice squad contracts and compensation for players on injured lists, must count.
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Rookie contract conversations, once a lengthy process, have become much more routine in the last decade. Day 3 picks (like Hadden) typically sign for four years of minimum salary and receive the balance of their allotted money as a signing bonus.
Tight end Jared Wiley, safety Jaden Hicks, center Hunter Nourzad, and guard CJ Hanson will sign similar contracts in the coming days, likely before the start of organized team activities (OTA) next week.
The team’s first-round pick, wide receiver Xavier Worthy, will eventually sign a fully guaranteed four-year contract. According to Spotrac, the scheduled contract for the 28th overall pick is $13.8 million. Worthy’s signature should also arrive within days.
However, negotiations with the Day 2 teams have become more complex. Second- and third-round picks are allocated significantly higher salaries than minimum salaries, making teams hesitant to pay the remaining portion as a signing bonus, as mid- and late-round picks receive. However, there is also less guidance on guaranteed money for their Draft rank, sometimes making players hesitant to tie their peers to precedent by signing early.
Former BYU tackle Kingsley Suamataia, selected in the second round with the 63rd overall pick and with a $6.42 million contract, will likely be the last of the team’s draft picks to sign. Last year’s second-round pick, wide receiver Rashee Rice, didn’t sign his rookie contract until June 15, about a month after the rest of the Chiefs’ 2023 draft class agreed to terms.
Fortunately, there is a major sign that Suamataia’s rookie negotiations could go better than Rice’s a year ago.
Fellow tackle Roger Rosengarten – released from Washington by the Baltimore Ravens immediately before Suamataia – agreed the terms on May 6. Let’s hope Rosengarten’s $3.38 million guaranteed on a $6.44 million contract provides enough of a guide to Suamataia’s eventual earnings.
With 91 players under contract and a full complement of 90 players on the active roster, we now estimate the Chiefs have $15.3 million in cap space.
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