Chiefs Sign Sixth-Round CB Kamal Hadden to Rookie Contract

The first of Kansas City's 2024 rookies has been signed, as Hadden gets out of the gate with a four-year expected contract.

Knoxville News Sentinel-USA TODAY

With the 2024 NFL Draft in the rearview mirror, teams around the league are beginning to sign their picks to rookie contracts. Instead of kicking things off with a first-round move, the Kansas City Chiefs have struck a deal with one of their Day 3 selections.

According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 on Tuesday morning, the reigning champions have signed sixth-round cornerback Kamal Hadden to a four-year deal. The pact is worth $4.158 million and contains a signing bonus of $138,388.

Hadden, the 211th overall selection in April's draft, was projected to land a contract just like this. Spotrac's estimates pointed to a deal worth just under $4.2M with the same exact signing bonus Hadden ended up getting. As a late pick, there naturally isn't much wiggle room for things to deter from what's traditionally handed out.

Assuming Hadden makes the Chiefs' eventual 53-man roster, he'll command a base salary of $795,000 as a player with zero years of service time in the NFL. With the signing bonus split up into charges over the duration of the deal, he should be on the books for an additional $34,597 in 2024. As a result, Hadden's cap hit would be $829,597 as a rookie.

#Chiefs signed sixth-round corner Kamal Hadden: $4.158 million, including $138,388 signing bonus

— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) May 14, 2024

Speaking to the media at Chiefs rookie minicamp, Hadden spoke about defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo's vision for him moving forward.

"He sees a lot in me," Hadden said. "He told me he sees a lot in me and he's on me a lot because he sees a lot in me. I feel like I see a lot in myself, but just coming from a defensive coordinator like that, that makes a lot of plays and is legendary, I feel like it's big to me, because if he sees something, then I can believe in myself a lot more, so it's just great experience."

With OTAs, mandatory minicamp and training camp on the horizon, expect Kansas City to get busy signing the rest of its rookie class. The remaining candidates are first-round pick Xavier Worthy, second-round pick Kingsley Suamataia, fourth-rounders Jared Wiley and Jaden Hicks, fifth-round pick Hunter Nourzad and seventh-round selection C.J. Hanson.

Read More: Former Chiefs WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling Signing with Bills