The Pittsburgh Steelers and first-round pick Broderick Jones have agreed to terms on a rookie contract, according to a report by Mike Garafalo of NFL Network.
The four-year deal is for the full slot amount of $16.6 million and it will be fully guaranteed. Specific terms, including the payment schedule of his signing bonus, have not been revealed. The Steelers will also have a fifth-year team option on Jones’ contract for the 2027 season.
The Steelers selected Jones with the 14th overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft after trading up with the New England Patriots. Pittsburgh sent picks No. 17 and No. 120 to the Patriots for the opportunity to select the Georgia product.
The Steelers moved up to make Jones the fourth offensive tackle taken in the first round.
While the exact details of the contract were not released, Over The Cap estimated the deal to be for $16.6 million over five years with a signing bonus of about $9 million. The fifth year of the deal is a team option, like with all first-round draft picks.
In his time at Georgia, Jones won two national championships and became an Associated Press All-SEC First-Team selection. In 2020, Jones redshirted before playing as a reserve in 2021. As a redshirt sophomore in 2022, Jones started all 15 games including the national championship game.
According to ESPN, Jones did not allow a sack on 445 pass block attempts in 2022. That happened to be the most in the SEC.
The 21-year-old only started 19 games in college but has the ability to start come the first game of the season due to the intense practices and competition that he endured in college. Georgia’s defense in 2021, which Jones practiced against every day, had eleven future NFL players on it.
Jones will challenge Dan Moore Jr. for the starting job in camp but has the ability to play on either side of the offensive line. The Steelers reworked the entire offensive line in the offseason with the drafting of Jones coupled with the signings of Isaac Seumalo and Nate Herbig.
The Steelers announced that Jones will wear No. 77 which is in honor of his college teammate Devin Willock who passed away following Georgia’s national title victory in January.
The Steelers also agreed to terms with nose tackle Keeanu Benton, their second of two second-round picks, on Friday. No. 32 overall pick, cornerback Joey Porter Jr., is the team’s only remaining unsigned draft pick.