The Likely Holdup in Getting Savaiinaea Signed

Miami Dolphins rookie second-round pick Jonah Savaiinaea remains without a contract

Miami Dolphins 2025 Rookie Minicamp / Alain Poupart - Miami Dolphins On SI

The Miami Dolphins signed seven of their eight draft picks right before the start of rookie minicamp, but second-round selection Jonah Savaiinaea remains unsigned more than two weeks later.

But that's a common problem around the NFL, and it's probably not a major leap to suggest the cause is the Houston Texans' contract with their own second-round selection, Jayden Higgins.

Higgins made NFL history when he signed May 8 by becoming the first second-round selection to have his rookie contract fully guaranteed, which no doubt caught the attention of agents everywhere.

Higgins, the 34th overall choice, was the first second-round pick from the 2025 draft to sign his rookie contract and since then only one other second-round selection has joined him. That was linebacker Carson Schwesinger signing with the Cleveland Browns the next day and — yup — he also got a fully guaranteed contract.

Because the money in rookie contracts is set per the CBA, the only negotiating points with draft picks basically involve guarantees and offset money — and it's probably not a coincidence that more than half of the 52 unsigned draft picks (30) as of Monday morning were second-round selections.

The Dolphins were way ahead of signing their draft picks this year, which was due to the fact they needed Xavien Howard's cap number to come off the books in 2024 and took care of the entire draft class in June. First-round pick Chop Robinson was the last to sign his rookie deal, and that took place June 13.

With the Savaiinaea situation, who will get a four-year contract worth $11.3 million with a $4.9 million signing bonus when he does sign, who knows how long it will take for the sides to come to an agreement.

The worst-case scenario is Savaiinaea — one of his two listed agents, Ryan Williams, also represents Tua Tagovailoa — refuses to sign and decides to re-enter the draft in 2026. Under that scenario, which remains highly unlikely, the Dolphins would get no compensation.

THE REST OF THE SIGNINGS SIMPLE

Because only first-round contracts typically were fully guaranteed, this is a new phenomenon occurring with second-round pick around the league.

Dolphins first-round pick Kenneth Grant, for example, got his four-year (with team option) contract of almost $22 million as the 13th overall pick fully guaranteed.

Also officially signing before the rookie minicamp were DT Jordan Phillips, CB Jason Marshall Jr., S Dante Trader Jr., RB Ollie Gordon II, QB Quinn Ewers and DT Zeek Biggers.

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