By Ross Jackson
On Tuesday afternoon, the New Orleans Saints announced the official signing of one of the team’s third-round selections, confirming that the pair of third-round deals were done.
Defensive tackle Vernon Broughton signed his contract on Tuesday, one day after safety Jonas Sanker inked his agreement.
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— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) May 13, 2025
The Saints quickly signed six of their eight rookies as rookie minicamp began. However, three deals were still left undone: Broughton, Sanker and second-round selection and quarterback Tyler Shough.
Lately, second-round contracts have taken a bit longer to sign than other rounds. Usually, the conversation comes down to different negotiation points, most commonly being guaranteed money. Because of that, the sequence of deals takes time to work itself out. For instance, the No. 39 overall selection doesn’t want to sign that deal until the guarantees for the No. 38 overall player are done. It’s a matter of establishing precedence.
This year, the Houston Texas threw a curveball to the league by fully guaranteeing No. 34 overall selection and wide receiver Jayden Higgins’ second-round salary. It’s the first time in NFL history that a non-first-round pick received a fully guaranteed contract.
Because of that, not only will the second round take even more time than usual, it looks likely that third-round picks will begin to see some similar delays. However, Broughton and Sanker’s deals got done fairly quickly.
Now, Shough remains the only member of the 2025 NFL Draft class that is unsigned. But as the No. 40 overall pick, it makes sense. There’s no need for him to make any agreements until Nos. 35-39 get their contracts settled.
