Jayden Higgins contract: Breaking down Texans star's $11.7 million rookie deal

The Houston Texans took Jayden Higgins with the No. 34 pick of the 2025 NFL draft. The wideout signed his rookie contract with the Texans on Thursday.

A look into Jayden Higgins' rookie Texans contract

Houston Texans WR Jayden Higgins - Source: Imagn

According to Equity Sports' Chris Cabott, Jayden Higgins signed a four-year, $11,700,824 fully guaranteed contract with the Texans. The receiver is reportedly the first second-round pick in NFL history to have a fully guaranteed contract. Traditionally, only first-round players get fully guaranteed contracts.

Per Spotrac, Higgins will receive a $5,149,688 signing bonus. His deal will include an average annual salary of $2,925,206.

In 2025, Higgins will earn a base salary of $840,000 while carrying a cap hit of $2,127,422 and a dead cap value of $11,700,824.

After drafting Higgins, Texans coach DeMeco Ryans spoke highly of the wideout.

"Jayden [is] just a big target," Ryans said. "I know a lot of people said he's very similar to [Texans wideout] Nico [Collins] and what he's able to do, but you get a receiver of his stature and with his catch radius, it just opens up a lot of things for us offensively that I know all of our guys are excited about."

Higgins began his collegiate career at Eastern Kentucky in 2021. He played two seasons with the Colonels before transferring to Iowa State in 2023. The wideout spent two seasons with the Cyclones.

In his final collegiate season, Higgins caught 87 passes for 1,183 yards and nine touchdowns. He earned a second-team All-Big 12 selection and helped Iowa State finish with an 11-3 record.

Higgins is expected to serve as another offensive weapon for Texans quarterback CJ Stroud next season.

The Texans finished the 2024 season with a 10-7 record, winning the AFC South. They beat the LA Chargers 32-12 in the wild-card round. However, Houston's postseason run ended with a 23-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round.