The Miami Dolphins had a busy Thursday. They signed veteran offensive tackle Jordan Mills to a one-year contract, and then later that same day they gave star cornerback Xavien Howard a record-breaking five-year, $76.5 million dollar extension with $46 million guaranteed.
But in-between those two moves, Miami began the process of signing their 2019 draft picks to contracts before the beginning of Friday’s rookie mini-camp. They had already signed both Chandler Cox and Myles Gaskin, and now first round pick Christian Wilkins is under lock and key for the foreseeable future.
What makes Wilkins’ deal such an interesting story is that the former Clemson standout is known for being very conservative and smart with his money. Shortly after he was drafted, Wilkins briefly joked about this fact with the media over a video call.
“You may not know this or not but I just had a Wall Street Journal article come out about me being the most frugal guy in this draft, and I know I have no state income taxes, so I’m excited about that! I’m looking forward to that. Miami is about to be a great spot.”
It should also be stated that with the way rookie contracts work in this modern era, Wilkins will essentially be getting a set amount based on where he was selected. Which means Wilkins will be getting the standard four-year deal with a fifth-year option, like all of the Dolphins’ recent 1st round picks, around the ballpark of $15.5 million and a signing bonus of about $9.2 million.
These are, of course, merely estimations until the actual contract details are released to the public.
With Wilkins taken care of, Miami can shift their focus on other matters, knowing their 1st round pick will have no numbers on his mind except for how many sacks he can get in his first season as a member of the Dolphins.
