Why Luther Burden III, Ozzy Trapilo, and Shemar Turner have yet to sign their rookie contracts with the Bears with OTAs rolling on

Inflection Points for Second-Round Picks

Going back to Loveland's contract, he signed a fully guaranteed deal (normal for all first-round selections). Everyone else's deal is going to have lower guarantees. Here's what those five signed deals look like per Over The Cap.

Colston Loveland: 4-year, $26.6 million (fully guaranteed + 5th-year option)
Ruben Hyppolite II: 4-year, $5.079 million ($879k guaranteed)
Zah Frazier: 4-year, $4.52 million ($320k guaranteed)
Luke Newman: 4-year, $4.43 million ($230k guaranteed)
Kyle Monangai: 4-year, $4.328 million ($128k guaranteed)

Where things get weird for Burden, Trapilo, Turner, and other second-round picks is that the guaranteed money goes up pick by pick for second-round selections. And for the first time ever, two second-round picks in Cleveland Browns linebacker Carson Schwesinger and Houston Texans wide receiver Jayden Higgins (the 33rd and 34th pick in the draft), signed fully-guaranteed deals.

As the 39th overall pick, Burden and his representation, for example, can look to potentially secure close to a fully guaranteed deal, especially when Burden already believes he should have been a first-rounder. At the very least, he'll get an increase of guarantees based on last year's numbers.

The 39th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Los Angeles Rams defensive lineman Braden Fiske, got $7.643 million in guarantees on a 4-year, $9.410 million deal. Which means 81.22% of his rookie deal was guaranteed. This year, with the natural inflation of the total salary based on the cap, players like Burden will demand a higher percentage.

For Trapilo, the 56th overall pick in the draft, let's take a look back at last year's percentage. Dallas Cowboys linebacker Marshawn Kneeland signed a four-year, $6.8 million deal with $3.69 million guaranteed, or 54.26% of his deal.

And for Turner, the 62nd overall pick, Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman Roger Rosengarten signed a 4-year, $6.437 million deal with $3.384 million in guarantees, or 52.57% of the deal, in 2024.

Seeing these three rookies still unsigned during OTAs isn't that rare anymore, and other teams are dealing with it too right now with their own second-round picks.

It's not something to be concerned about. These deals will get ironed out soon. If this still remains the case going into training camp in late July and into August, then it'll be something worth monitoring closely.