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FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- It took longer than expected, but the New York Jets and quarterback Zach Wilson agreed to terms on his rookie contract Thursday. The first-round pick and presumptive starter, who missed two days of practice as the two sides haggled over technicalities in the contract language, signed a four-year, $35.15 million contract -- a slotted deal that is fully guaranteed. It includes a $22.9 million signing bonus and a fifth-year team option, standard for all first-round picks. Wilson, who took a red-eye from Los Angeles and arrived in New Jersey on Thursday morning, was the last unsigned first-round selection from the 2021 NFL draft. The contract includes offset language and the signing bonus will be paid within 15 days, per a source, details that imply that the sides have compromised because those were the sticking points. Initially, the Jets wanted to defer payments into 2022. Coach Robert Saleh, speaking to reporters shortly before news of the deal broke, said he talked to Wilson early in the week. The conversation was strictly about football, not contract-related, Saleh said. He said he wasn't worried about the stalemate being a disruption to the team. "It's more concern for the kid," Saleh said. "Every rep is important, so my concern is that it's two days too many for him. But as far as the installs go and the way we're preparing the rest of the team, that doesn't concern me. "But this young man has a chance to do something special around here that hasn't been done in a while and every rep matters for him." Wilson benefited from a heavy workload in the spring. With no veterans on the roster, he took all the first-team reps. There was an increased sense of urgency to strike a deal because the Jets are counting on him to be their opening-day starter, although they haven't announced that. The only other quarterbacks on the roster are James Morgan and Mike White, neither of whom has regular-season experience. Rookie contract disputes are unusual because the deals are slotted, but teams and agents sometimes haggle over certain clauses. The Jets include an offset in every contract that has guaranteed money, which provides financial protection if they release the player before the contract is complete. An offset allows a team to cut a player before the end of his four-year contract is completed and have the remaining money reduced by the amount of his next contract. This isn't an unusual stance. It's believed that 30 of the 32 teams use offsets in contracts. The exceptions are the Los Angeles Rams and the Jacksonville Jaguars, with the latter having signed No. 1 pick Trevor Lawrence to a deal with no offsets. Without an offset, a cut player collects the guarantee from his old team plus the money he receives from his new team -- aka double dipping. What complicated the Jets' negotiation was that at least two of the five quarterbacks drafted in the first round received deals without full offsets -- Lawrence and Justin Fields (No. 11 by the Chicago Bears). Fields received a partial offset. Interestingly, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, the top pick in 2020 and represented by the same agency that negotiated Wilson's contract, signed a contract that includes offset language.
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