Back to the New Orleans Saints Newsfeed

Leigh Steinberg: Explaining the NFL system of rookie contracts

[Editor’s note: Sports agent Leigh Steinberg is writing a series of guest columns for Touchdown Wire examining pro football topics from his perspective of expertise after more than four decades in and around the game.]

The one somewhat normal NFL process amid COVID-19 is the negotiation of contracts for rookies who were drafted in April.

A rookie must have signed a contract in order to show up and participate in training camp. Rookies can attend a minicamp or organized team activities without a contract, but they are not allowed to be part of training camp while still negotiating with their team.