Dolphins weighing contract norms with rookie Jonah Savaiinaea, now must decide if this exact dollar figure is worth missed time in 2025

The Miami Dolphins and rookie offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea are currently at a contractual standstill. 

It technically isn't the fault of either party, either, as there's a larger movement underway across the NFL that is seeing the masses of second-round rookie draft picks not signing contracts in hopes of securing more in the way of guaranteed money at signing. In some cases, a fully guaranteed four-year contract is on the line. 

But with the Dolphins set to open training camp in just over one week, getting this ongoing standoff resolved and Savaiinaea suited up for training camp practices should be a major focus. Which begs the question, what exactly are these two sides at odds on at this point? 

The rookie wage scale and guaranteed money trends

The NFL & NFLPA's collective bargaining agreement (CBA) has an established pool of funds dedicated to the salaries of every rookie drafted in the annual NFL Draft. The higher you are drafted, the bigger your slice of the pie. And, up until 2025, only first-round contracts were fully guaranteed. 

That changed this year when the Houston Texans gave the 34th overall pick, wide receiver Jayden Higgins, a fully guaranteed salary. The Browns quickly followed suit with linebacker Carson Schwesinger, who was the 33rd overall selection. 

Savaiinaea, the 37th overall pick in the draft, is currently scheduled for a total contract value of $11,322,472 across four seasons, according to OverTheCap. Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap recently outlined the dynamics at play with these contracts and how the guarantee structure trends of recent years have unfolded. According to Fitzgerald, the 37th overall pick saw 84.7% of the total value of the contract guaranteed at signing in 2024. That pick, Ja'Lynn Polk with the New England Patriots, had a total contract value of $9,694,744 ($8,214,275 fully guaranteed). 

The numbers on Miami & Savaiinaea

According to OverTheCap's numbers, that means Miami and their second-round draft choice are currently at a divide over what equates to up to $1,729,036 dollars. If Savaiinaea got a fully guaranteed four-year contract, that's the fourth-year salary he'd be locking in as fully guaranteed that would otherwise be subject to risk if he was cut and not claimed off his rookie contract. Polk's contract with New England last year guaranteed the signing bonus and the first three years of salary fully. 

That's the question Miami must ask themselves as the eve of 2025 training camp creeps closer and closer. Is protections against $1.729 million of 2028 salary worth keeping Savaiinaea potentially out of the start of camp — especially if their pre-draft convictions of how good they think he is turn out to be right?