On Thursday, Jayden Higgins made NFL history.
But the history the incoming rookie wide receiver made might just have 31 NFL teams furious with the club that drafted him.
Higgins put pen to paper on his rookie contract with the Houston Texans, signing a fully guaranteed four-year contract worth $11,700,824. That contract made history as Higgins became the first second-round pick in NFL history to receive a fully guaranteed contract.
The Texans drafted Higgins at No. 34, early in the second round. Following the pick, General Manager Nick Caserio raved about Higgins, highlighting how he went from an “under-recruited” player coming out of high school to becoming an “NFL player:”
However, that contract might have the other 31 teams a little frustrated with the Texans, as it likely opens the door to fully guaranteed contracts for second-round picks going forward. For example, Kyle Crabbs, who does tremendous work covering both the NFL Draft and the Miami Dolphins, pointed out after the Higgins contract that while the Dolphins were close to signing their own second-round pick, those talks “probably got more complicated at the last minute” after the Higgins contract was announced:
Only Dolphins draft pick unsigned is Jonah Savaiinaea, whose negotiations probably got more complicated at the last minute when the Texans gave Jayden Higgins (34th overall) the first fully guaranteed 2nd-round contract in NFL history yesterday. https://t.co/an94idDYqT
— Kyle Crabbs (@KyleCrabbs) May 9, 2025
As our own Jared Mueller joked this morning around the SB Nation watercooler, if your team’s second-round picks do not sign contracts, feel free to blame the Texans.
