Nearly a week before OTAs began, the Pittsburgh Steelers locked up their entire rookie class. Under CBA rules with its rookie slotting, it’s far less of a headline than it used to be. Holdouts are no more and virtually every rookie is signed before reporting to training camp. To date, 22 of the 32 first-round picks have inked their rookie deals. That includes Steelers’ first-round pick DL Derrick Harmon, who signed his four-year contract (with a fifth-year option) on May 22.
If that feels early for a Steelers’ rookie, it’s because it is. Since the 2011 CBA that created the rookie guardrails still followed today, Harmon’s deal is the third-earliest the Steelers reached with a first-round rookie contract.