And he got whatever auxiliary contract guarantees he asked for. It’s a sticking point with second-round picks now, since the new CBA in 2021. These guys will continue to be the last draft picks signed, and it’s why you generally don’t want extra second-rounders unless you know you’re getting a can’t-miss player (and may have influenced some draft day trade strategy by the Saints). Don’t let the usual belly-achers claim this problem is unique to the Saints.
While that CBA did standardize rookie salaries and tie contract values to draft slots, there was still some wriggle-room left for players’ agents and teams’ front offices to negotiate things like guaranteed money, offsets paid by other teams after trades, and other details.