The final necessary move for the Cincinnati Bengals to make before final cuts was signing first-round pick Amarius Mims to his rookie contract. And with training camp just a day away, they got the job done.
Cincinnati announced Monday morning that Mims has signed his four-year deal worth $15.37 million.
Mims was the last first-round pick from this year's NFL Draft to sign his rookie contract. Nine of the Bengals' 10 draft picks have inked their rookie deals weeks ago. So why was Mims the last of the bunch? The final hurdle was actually cleared less than 24 hours ago.
Why the Bengals waited so long to sign Mims
Late Sunday night, Mims officially became the only first-round pick from this year's NFL Draft to have not signed his deal. The only one in his company right before was Dallas Turner of the Minnesota Vikings, whom was taken right before Mims with the 17th overall pick .
ESPN 's Adam Schefter reported that Turner has agreed to his four-year, $15.76 million that includes a $8.28 million signing bonus and a fifth-year team option.
When Turner put pen to paper, the details for Mims' deal fell into place.
Because Turner was taken right before Mims, the Bengals and Mims' representation were likely waiting to see what Turner's contract looked like from Vikings to make sure Mims' financials would be in line with the rookie wage scale. Mims' deal includes a signing bonus of $7.99 million, according to Schefter .
Conversely, Mims' deal is larger than 19th overall pick Jared Verse. The Los Angeles Rams signed Verse to a four-year, $15.13 million deal with a signing bonus of $7.82 million.
These are just the total values. The real hold up for Mims likely involved how the rest of the guaranteed money was distributed.
First-round picks are granted a signing bonus and roster bonuses throughout the life of their deals, all of it being guaranteed. Verse, for example, has three roster bonuses in each of the final three years of his deal, but his second roster bonus is larger than his third. The Rams didn't have to structure it that way, as evidenced by Byron Murphy, the 16th overall pick who went to the Seattle Seahawks . Murphy's third roster bonus is his largest of three roster bonuses, which he'll earn in the fourth year of his deal.
Signing bonus payment was also another variable here. Clubs can decide when the fully guaranteed signing bonus is paid out over the course of the deal. Players would obviously prefer it being paid as quick as possible, while some teams may chose to pay it over time.
These details are how rookie contract holdups occur nowadays as the total value of the deals are more or less predetermined. Once Cincinnati got a view of how the Vikings structured Turner's deal, their parameters were established. The timing of Mims' deal happening right after Turner is simply not a coincidence.
Mims is now allowed to practice in training camp and get the reps he needs to develop for the season. A contract dispute preventing him from doing so would've been a major distraction, so the Bengals had no more time to spare.
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