How NIL Plays a Factor in Terrance Ferguson's Contract Negotiations

That was until the Browns and the Texans gave Carson Schwesinger and Jayden Higgins fully guaranteed deals. Now all second-round picks are trying to get fully guaranteed deals of their own, and while in the past, NFL teams could wait those players out, these players are entering the NFL with millions in their bank accounts due to NIL.

For Ferguson, he's arguably the greatest tight end in Oregon history. He's without a doubt the highest-paid tight end in Oregon history, having been a part of the Ducks' NIL collective since 2022. Oregon is also funded by Phil Knight, the co-founder of Nike, so Oregon has one of the biggest war chests in college football.

While it's unknown exactly how much money Ferguson made (including his own NIL deals), 49ers tight end George Kittle provided insight into the wealth disparity between collegiate football players and non-first round NFL players on rookie contracts.

"I'm not gonna name any of their names, but like, we had a great rookie class. Like, every offensive install that we do during OTAs, a rookie has to get up and tell a joke. We make him do name, school, signing bonus, and this year we added NIL. One of the kids was like, yeah, I made, he was undrafted. He goes, I made $30,000 signing bonus. Like, ooh, yeah, good for you, man. And then he's like, I made $700,000 in NIL.

Kittle was then asked what's the highest number he had heard and Kittle responded that it was over a million.

Thus, players like Ferguson are able to get set up with housing, transportation, and any other needs/luxuries before they receive a dime of the NFL paycheck.

To Ferguson's credit, his contract hasn't been a factor in his preparation. He's been to every Rams event, he's been working hard, and Ferguson is fitting in just fine.

He also can't play without a contract. He knows it, the Rams know it, so Ferguson holds the leverage as the Rams and the NIL try to navigate the new waters of drafting millionaires.