Pelicans sign first-rounders from 2025 NBA Draft

The Pelicans have officially signed their two 2025 lottery picks, the team confirmed today, announcing in a press release that guard Jeremiah Fears and big man Derik Queen have inked their rookie scale contracts.

Fears, this year’s No. 7 overall pick, raised his stock significantly over the course of his first and only college season at Oklahoma —  he didn’t show up at all on ESPN’s 59-player mock draft last November.

The former four-star recruit, who won’t turn 19 years old until October, was among the NCAA’s best ball-handlers and play-makers as a freshman. The 6’4″ guard averaged 17.1 points, 4.1 assists, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game in 34 outings (31 starts), though he knocked down just 28.4% of 3.9 three-point tries per game for the Sooners.

Queen, meanwhile, was selected with the 13th overall pick after the Pelicans sent Atlanta this year’s No. 23 pick and an unprotected 2026 first-rounder (the most favorable of New Orleans’ and Milwaukee’s picks) for the right to draft the Maryland big man.

Queen was highly productive in his freshman season with the Terrapins, averaging 16.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.1 blocks in 30.4 minutes per contest across 36 total games. He helped guide Maryland to a 27-9 record and a spot in the Sweet 16, scoring 27 points in a loss to Florida, the eventual national champions.

As our breakdown of this year’s rookie scale shows, Fears will likely earn $7.5MM as a rookie and $34.2MM over the course of his four-year rookie contract. Queen should make $5.2MM in year one and $24.4MM in total.