In the 2020 NFL Draft, the Chargers selected six players: quarterback Justin Herbert, linebacker Kenneth Murray, running back Joshua Kelley, safety Alohi Gilman and wide receivers Joe Reed and K.J. Hill.
It’s been a little less than two months since the draft, and not one of these players have been signed to their professional contract.
In 2019, Los Angeles had their whole draft class signed by June 19. A year prior to that, L.A. inked all seven members from that draft by June 1.
So as we are in the middle of June, why haven’t the Chargers signed any of their draft picks from this year’s draft yet?
According to Sports Illustrated Albert Breer, it’s not just Los Angeles. Instead, there are a handful of other teams across the league that have yet to come to agreement with their selections.
“Just 51 of 255 draft picks (20%) and only two first-rounders were signed by June 1,” Breer said. “At the same juncture last year, 204 draft picks, including 20 first-rounders were under contract. (My guess is a lot of those young guys wouldn’t mind getting paid.)”
One of the biggest reasons as to why a lot of players haven’t signed their NFL contracts is because of the coronavirus pandemic. The players not being able to come to the facilities is a major impact because that’s where physicals take place, which is key to the signing process.
Another reason could be because players aren’t in a situation to get paid right off the bat. Since everything is virtual, not many rookies haven’t made the move to their perspective cities where they will be playing, which means that payments for housing and such won’t be required yet.
Expect to see some action after June 26 and before July 28. Those dates are important because it marks the end of the virtual offseason program, as well as the expected start date of training camp.