On Thursday, the NFL’s official transactions report showed that the Kansas City Chiefs have signed their second-round selection, pass rusher R Mason Thomas out of Oklahoma, to his rookie contract.
This comes a day after the Chiefs signed their fourth-round selection, former Oregon cornerback Jadon Canady.
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The NFL appears to not face a repeat of 2025, when the second-round class proved very difficult for teams to sign. Standoffs between teams and players (and agents) were common a year ago due to inconsistency between clubs on how much of second-round contracts to make fully guaranteed. Last year’s second round selection, Tennessee defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott, did not sign his rookie contract until July 21 on the eve of training camp.
With Thomas inked, 26 of this year’s 32 second round picks appear to have signed.
Thomas was the 40th selection in last month’s draft, and that selection number could prove interesting. Last year’s 40th selection, now New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough, was the final selection in the 2025 class to receive a fully guaranteed rookie deal.
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Spotrac estimates that Thomas is in line for a four-year contract worth $12.2 million with a $5.3 million signing bonus. His cap number for 2026 should come in at about $2.2 million. This should cause a net reduction of about $1.2 million in the Chiefs’ cap space. Using Spotrac’s projection, the Chiefs should have about $5.5 million remaining in cap space.
The team’s pair of first round selections, LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane and Clemson defensive tackle Peter Woods, remain unsigned. Kansas City could probably squeeze Woods’ estimated $3.3 million 2026 charge under the current salary cap situation. A financial move will be needed to sign Delane, who is estimated to have a $7.6 million rookie cap charge.
