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Jaguars' No. 1 Pick Trevor Lawrence Officially Signs Rookie Contract

The draft's top selection is officially under contract in Jacksonville, becoming the first of the draft's top-3 picks to sign.
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Trevor Lawrence has been has officially been signed, sealed and delivered to the Jacksonville Jaguars, with the team announcing the official signing of his rookie contract on Monday.

Lawrence, the No. 1 overall pick in April's NFL Draft, has been long proclaimed to be a franchise savior at quarterback. Now, he is officially on the path to fulfill those lofty expectations as a Jaguar.

The quarterback referred to the signing while addressing fans on Twitter, saying, "Gonna give Duval everything I got. Couldn't be more proud to represent Jacksonville. Let's go!!!"

Jacksonville drafted Lawrence with the team's first-ever No. 1 overall pick this offseason following a franchise-worst 1-15 season that saw three different quarterbacks start games for the team. There will no longer be a doubt about who will be the team's top quarterback heading into each week, though, with Lawrence as the unquestioned franchise quarterback in Jacksonville.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Lawrence's four-year rookie deal is worth up to $36.8 million and contains a standard fifth-year option. And as Schefter would explain, Lawrence's deal is unique in structure and payout.

According to Schefter, Lawrence will have his entire signing bonus paid within 15 business days. His deal also contains no offset language, and most of his contract in 2022-24 will be in roster bonus, which he earns if he is on the 90-man roster on the third day after the Jaguars' mandatory camp reporting dates. 

Lawrence, who last week was named the ACC Male Athlete of the Year, was 34-2 as a starter at Clemson, having only lost in the College Football Playoffs (as a sophomore, to LSU in the Championship and as a junior to Ohio State in the semifinals). As a freshman, Lawrence defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide to win the National Championship.

In his career, Lawrence completed 66% of his passes for 10,098 yards (8.9 yards per attempt, 9.8 adjusted yards per attempt) for 90 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. He also rushed for 943 yards and 18 touchdowns.

Lawrence improved throughout the course of the offseason, including having his best practice of the offseason on Day 2 of the Jaguars' mandatory minicamp. Now, he is officially under contract and ready to carve out his place in NFL history.

“He’s learning and he’s learning quickly. He’s a terrific student of the game, he loves the mental preparation, he’s getting a feel for how we do things here, he’s just a true pleasure to coach because he loves it," Jaguars passing game coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said during minicamp.

"He sits on every word, every phrase and every sound bite that you give him in meetings. And although he has played so much football, there [are] a lot of things that he continues to learn and be like, ‘Oh okay, that’s a good way to say that, I like that.’ So, you see growth from him every day and as a coach, you get excited about that because you see he’s getting better, he’s stacking good days on top of one another.”

The Jaguars have now six of their nine 2021 draft picks under contract. Travis Etienne (No. 25 overall), Tyson Campbell (No. 33) and Walker Little (No. 45) have still yet to sign.