Grateful. https://t.co/EVFYoky0Yy
— Alontae Taylor (@taeetaylor) July 19, 2022
There’s the completed set: Alontae Taylor put pen to paper and signed his four-year rookie contract with the New Orleans Saints after reporting for training camp on Tuesday, meaning each of the team’s 2022 draft picks are officially under contract and ready for work. Chris Olave, Trevor Penning, D’Marco Jackson, and Jordan Jackson signed on early in the spring, while a holdup in negotiations delayed Taylor’s signing. Now that’s behind us.
And that was the expectation. The latest NFL collective bargaining agreements standardized rookie deals in length (four years, with a fifth-year option for first rounders) and value (tying contract totals to draft slots), leaving few battlegrounds for teams and agents to spar over. But some second rounders like Taylor were able to haggle over guarantees (specifically third-year base salaries), leading to the stall-out.
But there wasn’t any real trouble here. Taylor was a full participant in minicamp practices earlier this summer (where he left a great impression on head coach Dennis Allen) and he’s entering training camp with a real opportunity to elbow his way into the starting lineup. Formally signing on doesn’t change his 2022 salary cap hit. He’s crossed the t’s and dotted the i’s and put in the work, and now he’s reaping the rewards with his first NFL paycheck. Good for him.
