When a second-round pick signs his rookie contract, it's not usually big news, but Seattle's Derick Hall is making headlines this week after signing an unprecedented deal with the Seahawks.
The former Auburn star, who was selected with the 37th overall pick, landed two things in his contract that no second-round pick has ever been given.
First, Hall is being paid 85% of his signing bonus before the start of training camp, which is the most money ever given to a second-rounder before camp, according to NFL.com. (Hall's signing bonus is worth $3.629 million, and he'll be getting $3.08 million before the Seahawks kick off training camp in July).
Most top draft picks will get a part of their signing bonus within 15 to 30 days after inking their deal. However, the other chunk doesn't usually get paid out until the following year. As an example, 2022 sixth overall pick Ikem Ekwonu received $12,060,644 of his $17,299,492 signing bonus within 30 days of executing his contract last year, but didn't get the remaining $5,168,848 until April 1, 2023, according to CBS Sports' Joel Corry, who is a former NFL agent. (Ekwonu got 69.7% up front and he was a first-round pick. The number is generally much lower for second-round picks.)
The other unprecedented part of Hall's contract is the guaranteed money. Since 2022, every player selected in the first round has had their entire four-year contract fully guaranteed. However, that's not the case for second-round picks, who almost never get any money guaranteed in the final year of their deal.
Hall's rookie contract could change that, though, and that's because he'll be getting a fourth-year guarantee of $100,000, which is the most that any second-round pick has ever gotten in a guarantee for the final year of their deal.
The Seahawks clearly like Hall and there's a good reason for that. The pass-rusher totaled 6.5 sacks and 11.5 tackles for a loss during a final season at Auburn where he was named first team All-SEC. Hall also recently made our recent list of rookies not picked on Day 1 who could have a big year in 2023.