Last Friday, the New England Patriots announced signing 15 rookie players to their first NFL contracts. Six of the 15 were chosen by New England in the draft, leaving only three of the Patriots' drafted rookies unaccounted for: First-rounders Isaiah Wynn and Sony Michel as well as second-round selection Duke Dawson. And while both Wynn and Michel remain unsigned, Dawson no longer is waiting for a deal.
As the Patriots announced earlier today, they have signed the 22-year old to an undisclosed contract. The rookie wage scale that has been introduced with the latest collective bargaining agreement, however, allows us to estimate the rough outline of the four-year deal the second-round pick has signed with New England: We know, for example, that the contract will have have a total value of roughly $4.7 million
Furthermore, it will include a signing bonus worth around $1.5 million. The bonus, which will be spread out over the length of the contract, will likely not be the only guarantee in Dawson's deal: His salaries over the first two seasons – roughly $855k in 2018 and roughly $1.1 million the following year – should also be fully guaranteed.
The Patriots drafted Dawson with the 56th overall selection earlier this month to provide depth at cornerback behind the top trio of Stephon Gilmore, Eric Rowe and Jason McCourty. The 5'10, 200 lbs cornerback appeared in all 48 games over the course of his four-year college career in Florida and finished his 2017 senior season with 34 tackles, four interceptions – one of which returned for a touchdown – and nine pass breakups.