Saints Used Clever Tactic To Craft Tyler Shough Contract
The New Orleans Saints agreed to a groundbreaking contract with rookie quarterback Tyler Shough on Saturday.
Selected as the No. 40 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft, Shough has now secured the league’s seventh fully guaranteed second-round contract, a rare achievement.
The Saints got creative in working on Shough’s deal, introducing a unique roster bonus clause to Shough’s contract, a first for a player outside the first round, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
“The contract also includes (an) annual Roster Bonus structure whereby Shough receives the majority of his compensation each year during the first week of training camp,” Schefter reported on Saturday.
Roster bonuses typically guarantee payment if a player remains on the team by a specific date, though the exact terms of Shough’s deal are still under wraps. This structure could set a precedent across the league.
Saints QB Tyler Shough Sets Rookie Bar as High as Bo Nix and Jayden Daniels
All the talk leading up to the 2025 NFL draft—at least when it came to quarterbacks—centered on Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward, with a little Jaxson Dart sprinkled in. But the New Orleans Saints shocked the league by selecting Louisville QB Tyler Shough with the 40th overall pick in the second round. And Shough says he’s setting the bar high for himself in his rookie year.
Shough was a solid prospect, but the issue with him is that he’s not really the age of a typical rookie. He’s turning 26 in September, and he played seven, count ’em, seven years in the NCAA, with stops at Oregon, Texas Tech, and Louisville. Shough’s college career began the same year as Patrick Mahomes first became an NFL starter. So yeah, it’s been a long time coming.
But the Louisville product believes all that time in college has prepared him for his shot in the NFL. While speaking to Barstool Sports’ Jon Gruden, Shough was bullish on his prospects for 2025.
Gruden asked what the rookie’s expectations were and whether he’d be satisfied with simply getting out there. Shough wants more than that.
“No, man. My expectation is to go out there and play at the highest level I can,” the QB said.
“I think everything that’s been preparing me for this. And I’m not gonna go out there all scared to make mistakes and stuff like that. And there’s gonna be ups and downs, but I’m gonna do everything I can to try and make the team better. I don’t have any control about all the outside stuff, but I can do everything I can that way.”
Shough’s confidence should be encouraging for the Who Dat Nation. He’s not settling for a backup role. He is also currently the betting favorite to win the job, but 2024 fifth-round pick Spencer Rattler is very much in the race. Shough doesn’t care, though.
He saw what Bo Nix and Jayden Daniels did last year as rookies, leading their teams to the playoffs with quality play, and he believes he can follow in those footsteps.
“I think you saw it from Bo Nix and [Jayden] Daniels last year. You know, why not? Why not go out there and rip it?”
Jayden Daniels had arguably the best rookie season ever, so Shough might be setting the bar a little high there. But he could very well come in and have a season similar to what Bo Nix had, not winning every game himself, but playing smart, winning football.
Shough has got a pretty good cache of weapons in New Orleans too: Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, Alvin Kamara, and Brandin Cooks. With that kind of talent, no one can say he didn’t have enough support this year with the Saints.
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